The Chimera Queen
by DanganPitou
Summary: What if Neferpitou survived after her battle with Gon? There will be consequences...
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

A familiar scenario is displayed in front of them. A boy who's world just fell apart and a chimera ant with cat DNA staring at said boy. In Neferpitou's sight there was a human boy who's fallen into a deep sadness. Tears streamed down his face displaying evidence to Neferpitou that she hurt the boy with her words. The words she declared to him "he's already dead" echoed in his mind as his internal conflict has worsened.

It started when his mortal enemy the very same Chimera Ant who told him the heartbreaking news was the one who killed Kite. Gon went through several stages of grief before getting a chance to recuperate. Gon dreaded how weak he was, not being able to accomplish anything he tried to do right. Failure after failure, mistake after mistake, heart break after heart break, it all culminated into the feeling of despair he has surrendered to, Neferpitou was the target of his anger but now she was the cause of his despair. Gon's psyche was on the verge of collapse until Pitou's next words awoke something in him.

As she was using her medical ability to repair any internal damages to her arm, Gon wondered why she wouldn't heal Kite, still holding out some small hope in his heart that Kite is still alive...however to his dismay, Gon saw Pitou heal her arm that she broke prior in order to make a deal with him, further proving the fact that any previous leverage he had on her is now gone.

After healing her arm Pitou says "Gon. I'm sorry I have to say this...but I have to kill you now." In response the tears flowing down Gon's face stream even further. "For the King." Pitou says. In order to assure him that his final moments were near Pitou made a battle pose with her right arm being the focal point of her offensive position. Gon thought to himself "Kill me? Pitou's not going to heal Kite?" The internal conflict within his psyche had finally hit it's peak. An insidious aura slowly started to form inside the boy. This aura was evidently pure darkness. A corruption that resembled his hatred towards Neferpitou.

When a powerful nen user loses their will to live, an opportunity of even greater power becomes possible. Gon was going to use that opportunity to activate 'Covenant' a powerful nen ability that grants almost unlimited power to the user. However there is a condition for this power to be activated, in order to cast covenant one must enable a 'restriction' unto themselves in order to maintain the spirit of "give and take" of this powerful nen ability. An eternal curse that he'd have to live with for the rest of his days, this restriction needs to be equal to the amount of power he needs. Gon was willing to go through with the process of activating Covenant in order to defeat Pitou.

In this particular case; Gon Freecs' "Covenant" was to rapidly age into his future body within a matter of seconds allowing him to have the power of years worth of nen training. His restriction would be to never be able to use nen again. Ultimately while under the immense emotional stress he concluded it was worth it. The tension surrounding Gon and Pitou suddenly grew. Gon's body was wrapped in a red cloak symbolizing the the intense emotional pain he was in. Pitou sensed Gon's will perfectly, thus making her fear that he would be able to unleash a power greater than the king himself.

While flinching from the wind pressure that was building up, Pitou decided she needed to act before something bad happened. However before she could act, her consciousness faded and her entire world became pitch black.

Many would assume that a story's linear path is the the one truth that they've come to know and it can't be altered in any way. If an individual were to read a book over and over again, they would eventually find something new in the gaps of its paragraphs. Something new in between the lines. Something, "different", almost as if everything they thought they knew...was a lie.

In a mysterious astral plain a lone cat girl was floating through it's space, barely conscious she asked herself; "where am I". Neferpitou was floating a eerie space with no explanation of how she arrived there. Soon the entire area became clouded in mist and suddenly a silhouette of the boy who posed a threat to the king's life appeared. The very same Gon Freecs appeared before her with a menacing aura. The shadow reached out to Pitou and slowly gripped her neck with both of his hands. Pitou tried to fight back but she couldn't move. The hands of the boy were crushing her throat, tears started flowing down her face as she was suffocating she knew her life force was fading away.

She thought of her king one last time. The king who gave her a purpose, the king who she pledged her life too, the king who's name she never found out.

Pitou thought to herself "if it's me...then I guess that's okay. This way, the king will be safe."

A voice called out to Pitou as she was choking: "ma'am, can you hear me? Neferpitou-sama! Please wake up, you're having a bad dream!"

"A...dream?" She pondered.

"Neferpitou-sama please calm down! It's going to be all right." The voice said.

Pitou opened her eyes to be greeted by a new setting. She was laying in a hospital bed with with a very expensive looking setting. Many thoughts swirled in her head as she was trying to process what could have possibly happened to her. The person standing next to her bed smiled at her. Pitou looked at the individual confused. He was a chimera ant just like her, except his appearance showed evidence of him having DNA taken from a hippopotamus with noticeable big hands that contradict what a hippo's foot would look like. Thankfully she noticed that he had a rather gentle yet dignified vibe about him.

The hippo chimera ant looked at Pitou and broke the ice with "Good morning Pitou-sama. Welcome back to the land of the living!"

Pitou looked at the chimera ant with a justified, confused look on her face and asked "Where am I? What's going on here?" He replied with "You're in the palace ma'am."

Unfamiliar with her current surroundings, Pitou responded "I've never visited this part of the Palace."

The hippo chimera ant replied: "I understand. This is actually the medical ward of the palace. I assume you never had time to be here because you were busy with security for the palace by using your En. By the way my name is Doctor Hippotsu, but you can just call me Hippotsu ma'am. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Pitou-sama. Anyway, I understand you might have over a dozen questions for me. But before I can answer anything I'm going to have to ask you a couple of things first. Is that all right?"

Pitou was too exhausted to disregard what this person was saying. Although she wanted to leave and return to her king as quickly as possible but she's smart enough to know it's best to comply for now especially if she wants to find out what happened to her. "Fine Hippotsu, ask away...the sooner I can get out of here, the better."

"Good, let's get started." he replied. "The first thing I want to ask is, what is the last thing you remember?"

Neferpitou recalls the events of the palace invasion and Gon escorting her to a hideout somewhere in the country of the NGL. She recites the events asbest as she can until the point where she fainted.

"I then declared to him that I'd kill him but after that...the rest is a blur" she said.

Hippotsu looked at Pitou and asked her. "So...you don't remember actually killing this...Gon person? Hmmm..." Hippotsu questioned. Neferpitou couldn't recall what happened after she told Gon she would kill him. She remembers that the boy was in deep distress after he found out that she killed his mentor, but what happened after?

She than looks at the doctor and notices he has a heavy look of worry on his face as he writes something down on his notepad. "What's wrong?" she asks. "Hm? Oh it's nothing. Next question, "Do you know who rescued you and brought you hear?"

Pitou responded "Of course not and why would I need saving? He was just a kid." Pitou may have said that however she knew that she was denying how she felt about Gon's potential and how it made her dread the thought of him getting anywhere close to the king. She complied with his requests in order to keep his rage at bay and as far away from the king as possible. She just didn't want to admit it to this low ranking soldier ant.

Hippotsu looked at Pitou with a rather concerned look on his face and said "I-I see...well Neferpitou-sama someone did in fact save your life. The truth is you were on the brink of death after you lost to him" he continued while writing more notes on his notepad. He then attempted to ask the next question but-

Pitou cuts him off "What do you mean 'lost'? What are writing down there? And why do you look so worried?" Pitou's concern grew heavier and heavier.

Hippotsu responds with a nervous and slightly high pitch tone. "W-well it's just notes for me to reference to later on. I just want to make sure you're recovery is as smooth as possible."

Pitou was bit annoyed by that on obviously vague answer thus she was tired of listening to him and said "Okay, I'm leaving, I'm sure the king is waiting for me anyway." "Pitou-sama please wait!" The doctor exclaimed.

As Pitou tried to get up she felt a considerable amount of pressure on her legs, waist and forearms. Something was holding her down. "What are these things?" Get them off of me now!" Pitou commanded.

"Neferpitou-sama, I assure you it's for the best! Please, I know you're confused right now, but it's best if you just listen to me for now." The doctor pleaded. Pitou took this as an act of insubordination from the suspicious doctor. The thought of being held down by these straps was mortifying for her especially since she outranks the commoner soldier ant who she has no respect for in the first place. Her confusion, her fear and anger all combined into one strong emotion prompting her to use her strength in order to break out of the straps that were holding her down, and then lunged at the doctor.

Within seconds Pitou had her claws at the doctor's throat "You shouldn't piss me off doctor! Don't ever try to restrain me again! I don't care what questions you may have now, I'm leaving to find the king!" she declared.

Despite being terrified of Pitou's power Hippotsu begged her to stay "Neferpitou-sama, you won't like what you'll find...please let me explain!" he said rather nervously.

Pitou responded with "I don't have time for this." Pitou began walking towards the door to make her exit walking rather confidently with her tail twitching constantly, emphasizing her annoyance.

Hippotsu called to her "Neferpitou-sama I beg you! Please, the situation as you know it has changed. Please allow me to explain what happened to you!"

Pitou stopped walking and said "make it quick" and then turned around swiftly to look at the doctor who was still on the floor and scared due her threat a minute earlier.

Hippotsu answered her "Th-thank you." Hippotsu got up and and dustrd himself off before telling Pitou what he knows. "Neferpitou-sama...i'm sorry I have to tell you this but..."

There was a pause in his sentence, which only increased Pitou's concern even more, he then stated "you are the the only member of the royal guard left." "What are you talking about?" Pitou asked while her eyes widened.

Hippotsu repeated himself but made himself clearer "Neferpitou of the royal guard, i'm afraid the king is dead and you are the only member of the royal family left."

End of chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

The room was silent for a while, for approximately 4 minutes. Hippotsu looked at Neferpitou's expression and noticed that she was still trying to process the information bestowed upon her. Hippotsu tried to speak to her, "Ma'am are you oka-" only to be interrupted by a sudden reaction from the cat girl, Pitou fell to her knees and felt an emotion she had yet to truly understand. "Why? H-how? Who killed..." she tried to speak but it was too difficult for her to finish a sentence. In her mind she thought of her king and had multiple flashbacks of her many brief interactions with the King. Suddenly in a burst of anger she looked up and the doctor and said "IT'S A LIE! IT HAS TO BE A LIE!"

Hippotsu tried to comfort the despairing cat girl by placing his hand on her shoulder while trying to reassure her that this is in fact the undeniable truth. "I'm...afraid it's true. The Royal Guard members Shaipouf, Menthuthuyoupi along with the King himself have all passed on. Ma'am, I'm so sorry." Hippostsu harrowed. In response to that Neferpitou looked to the ground and punched a hole onto the floor below her without leaving a mark on her balled up fist. Hippotsu jumped in response and then tried to calm her down by saying "I know it's hard to take in, but please ma'am you must calm yourself."

Neferpitou's mind wandered to thoughts about the King while Hippotsu tried to comfort her. Hippotsu debated in his mind whether or not it would be appropriate to tell her the current situation she's in, he knew it would only hurt her even more however as a loyal subordinate to the Chimera Ant Kingdom he felt it was his duty to inform his distressed commander of everything that has transpired after her fight with Gon. Hippotsu proceeded with "Ma'am it is my duty to inform you of everything that has happened while you were asleep, however I wish to give you some time to process all of this."

Neferpitou responded to him "It...doesn't matter anymore." "Pardon me ma'am?" Hippotsu questioned. "IT DOESN'T MATTER HIPPOTSU!" Pitou exclaimed. "Without the King, Pouf and Youpi, It's pointless...my purpose...my entire purpose was to serve the King alongside with the other members of the Royal Guard. If they're all dead, than I no longer have a purpose." Hippotsu responded to her "Pitou-sama...that's not true. You are a survivor of the attack on this palace, if anything there is a chance you can redeem yourself of the pain you are feeling now."

With tears rapidly flowing down her face, she looked up to him and asked "What are you talking about?" She continued with "There is...no point in me going on anymore. My purpose was to protect the person most important to me; the King, but now he's gone. So why should I even try to redeem myself if I couldn't protect the one person who meant the world to me?!" She cried. Hippotsu looked at her and then in a stern voice said to her "Neferpitou, you are the sole survivor of the Royal family! It's imperative that you survive, it's imperative that you hold your head up and live on for the sake of the King's legacy! To the few of us who were loyal to the king even at the end...you are the only one we can turn to. You may have failed with your old purpose, but now you have a new one!"

Neferpitou looked up at Hippotsu and asked him "What do you mean?" "Neferpitou-sama, please stand up, it's not befitting of the Queen of the Chimera Ants to be on her knees like this." Pitou's face changed from depressed and confused to just utterly confused, a pure emotional outburst was the only thing that could result from this. "What do you mean? I'm...the Queen?" after she questioned Hippotsu she stood up and faced him directly and said "That doesn't make any sense! I'm one of the Royal Guard!". Hippotsu disputed her statement with his next sentence "Neferpitou-sama, whether you believe it or not, according to us, you are our now our Queen. The chimera ant kingdom needs leadership...we need Royal blood to guide us to our future."

"Listen to yourself! How dare you belittle the King's position and undermine his importance! I'm not worthy of taking the throne, it's unthinkable! It's impossible! It's not what I was born to do! I CAN'T BE THE QUEEN! I rather die than disrespect the King!" Pitou argued back. Hippotsu replied to her with a hint of desperation in his voice "P-please don't say that, Neferpitou-sama! I dread the though of losing our queen right after she has just awoken! I'm certain that you'll understand if you just-" however he was interrupted by Pitou "ENOUGH! I won't do it! I won't!" Hippotsu was a bit fed up with the queen who kept denying her responsibility while refusing to listen to him, in an instant he huffed and roared the following statement "WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS MORE DISRESPECTFUL TO THE LATE KING NEFERPITOU-SAMA!"

After he shouted at her, a silence befell the room. "Forgive me, please I understand what you must be going through. We have all felt the way you are feeling right now." Pitou singled out the word 'we' when Hippotsu made his statement, but was too in distress to care about mentioning it. Hippotsu stared at the his queen who refused her title without the words to back up his current thoughts. He was speechless to see the Royal Guardsmen Neferpitou act in such a manner. He understood that this could be a case of a bad first impression of her as well as acknowledging the situation she just found herself in. He thought primarily about how he was going to help her accept this new position as the ruler of the planet. He then decided to tell her everything that happened prior to her awakening.

"Neferpitou-sama...please allow me to explain, perhaps then you'll be willing to accept the truth." Pitou looked down with while clenching her teeth and responded with "Fine, but I'm not going to change my mind." "You might want to sit back down as I tell you what actually happened." He requested. Pitou complied with the doctor's request and sat down on the bed she woke up on prior to her tantrum.

As Pitou prepared herself for what she was about to hear her mind was racing with thoughts about what could have possibly happened while she slept. Her king is no longer alive. Her brothers Youpi and Pouf have joined him in death. She thought about how similar her reaction was to Gon's reaction when they heard heartbreaking news. Gon Freecs, the boy who she declared to kill right after she told him his mentor was deceased. Pitou knew Gon was a threat to the King, though a small part of her did feel bad for the boy, however she devoted herself to her mission. That mission was to protect the King she cared so much about. She decided with no more hatred toward Gon that she could at least put him out of his misery and protect the King as well. At least, that was the plan. Neferpitou woke up to a day she hoped would never come true.

She remembered telling Gon that she would kill him...What exactly happened afterward?

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Hippotsu began to explain everything to Neferpitou starting with what happened after she was ordered to heal Komugi. He told her about the King learning his name from his human opponent and the intense battle that allegedly took place.

"The King who had finally learned his name had returned to the palace alongside Pouf and Youpi. A epic battle took place between two of the strongest beings in the world. Isaac Netero, the former chairman of the Hunter association and one of the most powerful people on the planet faced off against the King of the chimera ants; Meruem. Netero cornered our king several times however Meruem ultimately came out victorious. Netero, being the master tactician that he is, had led Meruem to a desert far away from the capital of East Gorteauh in order avoid collateral damage. His intent was never to survive the battle, but rather sacrifice his life in order to destroy the threat to the human race that was our chimera ant king. Netero's trump card was an illegal explosive hidden within his heart."

"'The poor man's Rose' is what it was called and it was implanted within his heart, ready to detonate when ever his heart stops beating. The old man must have been killed by the king in order for the explosion to be triggered. Meruem was caught off guard by the explosion and succumbed to it's mighty flames. Although a weapon of mass destruction the explosion itself wasn't as grand as the radius of a nuclear weapon. What truly made this weapon terrifying however, was the toxic agent that spread through it's smoke and that poison remained in the bloodstream of our king. Somehow Menthuthuyoupi and Shaipouf were able to revive Meruem and save him from the explosion with their abilities of course we have yet to determine exactly how that has been done."

Neferpitou's eyes widened when she heard that. Perhaps a small kindle of hope was lit in her heart? Hippotsu continues on "the medical staff had evacuated while all of the fighting was going on, except for me. I was able to watch as most of the events unfolded before me, including the miracle of the royal family returning nearly unscathed back to the palace. Little did I know at the time that three of them were all exposed to the poison of the miniature rose.

"The king returned to us with amazing new abilities after he returned and used them to subdue a few of the human invaders. His En was beyond anything I had ever seen at the time. It was truly astonishing, our king had truly become the most powerful being on the planet. However, even with his new abilities he could not predict that his body was slowly being destroyed by the poison he was exposed to. He then vanished for three days, we couldn't find him anywhere. We searched everywhere for him and our search bore results when a few soldier ants went to the underground level of the palace they found his corpse in one the mock buildings there. His hand was tightly holding a human girl's hand, I didn't recognize her but a few guards claimed that she was important to the king. With that in mind we prepared a burial ground for them and placed them in caskets that befit a member of the royal family."

He continued, "We did the same for Pouf who succumbed to the poison way before King Meruem had. Meruem evidently was stronger than every individual chimera ant combined, surviving for a much longer time than Shaipouf right before the poison took it's toll on his body. Some of the ants suggested we make a shrine in the courtyard...I thought that was disrespectful to our late king however, wouldn't it make much more bury him underground where he died? But the soldiers insisted on choosing the courtyard...they said it's a reminder of how the humans hurt our king with the Dragon Dive and a symbol of what our future as a species. I slowly understood the reason. Our king...died here, not just for his people...but for life itself. He saved that human girl and showed the world that Chimera ants aren't the monsters we all are made out to be. I truly admire him for that."

" _So Komugi was with the king the king in the end...I guess that's good. Together, they found peace."_ Neferpitou smiles at the thought of the king dying happily and peacefully alongside Komugi. Oh, what happened to Youpi?" Neferpitou asked with dried tears in her eyes.

"Unfortunately we don't know. We found a tiny replica of his helmet somewhere in the courtyard, but we were unable to find him." said the doctor.

Pitou squinted her eyes in confusion in response and said "since when did he wear a helmet?"

"Forgive me my queen. I haven't the slightest idea". The doctor lamented.

"Listen, please stop calling me that! I'm not ready to be the queen, I can't even begin to imagine myself in Meruem's place."

"I apologize ma'am. Please allow me to tell how we found you."

Neferpitou placed her four fingered hand on the top of her head displaying how much stress she was under upon hearing her all about her king and his newfound identity, she dreads the thought of not being able to being able to see him during his final moments but she finds some solace in learning his name.

"Fine, go ahead." Pitou distressingly said.

"Ma'am, I'll get straight to the point. Me and a few other soldiers began searching for you, one of them had canine DNA so his sense of smell was quite useful during the search. The route we followed was presumably the one you took where that boy led you to that castle, once we got there we found you on the brink of death...as if someone tried to kill you."

"The brink of death?" Pitou immediately thought of Gon and the moment his expression changed from anger to sadness. _"How could someone who was obviously so much weaker than me even pull that off let alone the fact that he fell into despair?"_ She thought to herself _._

Hippotsu continued "You had two bruises on your abdomen and thirteen open wounds all around your body, it seems like whatever the assailant tried to do, they didn't have a chance to finish. Fortunately we found you before you lost too much blood so we were able patch you up and stabilize you with ease. Unfortunately you were asleep for a while."

Neferpitou looked down and came to the realization that this is her new reality. The world she woke up to is not the one she remembered. She stands up and commands Hippotsu "Please... take me to his grave. I want to see Meruem again".

Hippotsu nodded and led her outside of the palace. The palace grounds were noticeably a lot cleaner than when Pitou left. Multiple chimera ant soldiers are doing their part to clean up the debris that was caused from the Dragon Dive. When they got to the courtyard Pitou noticed that there was a beautiful shrine made to isolate the graves of the royal family from the rest of the world.

Hippotsu tells Pitou she may enter the shrine "Please take as much time as you need ma'am."

Pitou proceeds to enter the shrine and what she finds inside that there is an area with candles surrounding a painting of the King that was presumably made by one of the ant soldiers that was an artist in their previous life.

"I-it's beautiful!" Pitou expressed with tears in her eyes. "Who knew one of your soldier ants could have such talent...isn't that right my king? I honestly don't know what to say to you, the last time I saw you...you were alive. You were magnificent, my king! Your disposition, the way you commanded me and even the way you also cared for Komugi...I loved everything that made you well...you."

"I realized my purpose was to protect you and serve you as a member of the royal guard and yet...I failed. No amount of apologies can make up for my failure your majesty. But...I can't dwell on it forever. I know you wouldn't want me to lose myself to this sadness so I have to find a new purpose in order to honor you for the person you were. **Meruem**. That's your name isn't it? It's a nice name, the queen really thought up the best name to give to the king of the chimera ants. Thank you for trusting me, even though I failed you...Meruem, thank you for giving me a purpose in life...and thank you for being my king. I'll never forget you, your majesty." Pitou ended her eulogy with tears and stayed in the shrine staring at the painting of Meruem, Komugi and her brothers for a while.

Neferpitou existed the shrine and thought about what she should do now. She thought about Hippotsu's words before reminding her of the so called responsibility she has as the queen of the chimera ants. "Hippotsu." She called.

"Yes, ma'am?" He responded.

Pitou looked at him and said "I'm going to do it. I'm going to become the queen."

Hippotsu looked at Pitou as if mesmerized by her words. He said "Yes, my queen let's get started."

"Actually, I can't focus on the politics yet. First of all I need to train myself. Understand nyow?" She asked.

"Huh? But my queen, we need you to help us. Those of us who were loyal to the king have nowhere else to go." Hippotsu said.

"The queen needs to be strong right? I need to regain my composure before I take charge of anyone." She claimed. "Alright it's time to start, i'm going to unleash my Hatsu so stand back. Alright, _breaths in and then out._ Alright, here we go."

Pitou attempts to use her nen...however "Huh? That's weird. I can't activate my aura."

End of chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

Somewhere in the United states of Saherta, a few members of the Hunter Association discuss a proposal that can classify all chimera ants with sentience as "magical beasts" to the members of "V6" to provide them the same rights as any other magical beast or human. This is the classification that Colt was designated as, although initially it was meant as a deterrent to prevent them from being hunted. He and his adoptive daughter Reina(Kite) are both under the jurisdiction of the Hunter Association where they are provided shelter, finance, and protection from the the outside world. Although the NGL and East Gorteau are now classified as nature reserves, the supreme leader's palace was left abandoned by the Hunter association.

The government leaders of the world; "V6" decided to turn a blind eye towards the incident in Peijing's Republic of East Gorteau. V6 ultimately decided it would be best to let the nation reestablish itself without getting involved because of Yorbia's risk of violating it's foreign policy. The now deceased Masadoru Diego's influence has left multiple citizens of the republic lost. The Mitene Union is now left with a fallen capital, Peijing is left without a government and the republic of East Gorteau is now without a leader.

Because of the Hunter association's jurisdiction over these two countries they are now in the middle of all of this tension between the leaders of V6 and their involvement with the NGL incident and Peijing incident. Following the "the human selection" that was conducted by Shaipouf, the chimera ants established themselves as the new rulers of East Gorteau. The ants are structured similarly to human beings; the fact that they follow a code similar to that of a monarchy, not so different to how East Gorteau was ran already. Humans and ants are truly the same in this regard.

Elsewhere, Neferpitou is walking through the forests of East Gorteau when she suddenly sees a silhouette of a man dancing like a rag doll in the distance. "What...is that?" She asks.

Slowly the man starts getting closer to her. Pitou's expression changes to show her cautiousness. The dancing man gets even closer to her. Slowly the silhouette is slowly highlighted. The light shines on the lower half of the dancing man's body, revealing a familiar sight to Pitou.

"Wait, it can't be!" She exclaimed.

The light reveals everything and exposes the dancing man's true form. It was in fact Kite, the person Pitou killed and then revived only to be used as a puppet. There were strings attached to his back that resembled Pitou's manipulation ability. What looked like dancing initially to Pitou was actually Kite being pulled by each string jerking his body into awkward positions continuously.

"I...I killed you!" Pitou yelled. "How are...wait, why are you here?" She asked.

Neferpitou suddenly realized the malicious intent that was pouring out of the undead puppet and decided the best course of action would be to attack it before it attacks her. Kite is slowly creeping towards Pitou as she is about to jump at him.

"I'll just have to kill you again!" she said while getting ready to lunge at Kite. "Wait...I can't move! Why can't I move? Damn it, this can't be happening!" She roared.

Kite finally was within arm's length of Neferpitou. He awkwardly reached towards her face. Pitou flinched at the hand slowly approaching her face, but Kite's hand instead patted her on the head. "Ugh...huh, what are you doing?" She asked.

Kite is patting her head gently which is only adding to her anxiety of the situation. Suddenly Kite grips the top of her head and squeezes tightly. Her head starts to leak bit of purple blood. "AGGGGHHHH! Stop! Please stop! Ack!" She cried in pain.

Kite continued to squeeze her head as tightly as he could this time with the support of his other hand around her neck, choking her. As Pitou's consciousness fades she noticed a black silhouette behind Kite, a shadow figure that resembles another of her enemies. _"G-Gon?"_ She thought to herself.

Gon's silhouette then reached out his hand towards Kite and activated an ability that resembles his _'Jankenchi'._ It may have resembled the scissors ability though it was covered in a black aura tinted with a purple stream of light displaying nothing but pure malice from the boy. The shadow figure sliced Kite in half leading him fade into dust. Neferpitou fell to the ground trying to catch her breathe but she was still winded from having her nearly crushed. She looked up at the shadow figure standing over her, it had no face, only the appearance of Gon. It was the embodiment of darkness showing nothing but killing intent. The shadow lifted it's arm and then attempted to slash Pitou in half. Pitou flinched and then she awoke. She woke up in the East Gorteau palace, breathing heavily as if she just had a near death experience, her nightmare disturbed her slumber while in the former supreme leader's quarters.

 _"Jeez...what's with these dreams...why is that kid haunting me to this day?"_ Pitou thought to herself.

 _"I wonder what happened to him, I'm pretty sure I didn't get a chance to defeat him, I don't remember fighting him at all as a matter of a fact."_ She pondered.

Pitou looked at her open palm and continued to wonder about her current circumstances. Last night she found out that her king and her brothers were deceased. If things weren't bad enough she has also found out that she is no longer able to use nen. _"How-"_ before she could finish that thought someone knocked on her door.

 _"That must be Hippotsu with the test results."_ She thought to herself.

Pitou got out of the king sized bed and approached the door to open it only to be greeted by a new face "Gooooood morning Pitou-sama!" the mystery person gleefully shouted.

"AAAAGGHHHH!" Pitou shrieked at the sight of this new chimera ant she has never met. With all the strength in her legs she jumped to the ceiling and dug into it with her claws, leaving some cracks in the ceiling. Only one thing could make a cat girl frantically jump like so. This chimera ant that Pitou just saw had canine dna. This is the first time Pitou had seen this dog chimera ant.

"Huh? What's wrong Pitou-sama? I hope I didn't startle you! I'm really sorry, I tend to surprise people with my unique personality". She then sticks her tongue out in a friendly manner while rubbing the back of her head in slight embarrassment.

Pitou didn't know why she jumped in response to seeing her, however it was evident the dog girl meant no harm so she landed back onto the floor. "Sorry about that...I'm not sure why I reacted like that. _"That was really unlike me."_ She thought.

"No worries Pitou-sama! I came in here to serve you your breakfast!" The dog girl claimed.

"Huh? Thanks...but who are you?" She asked.

"Awww, that's really mean Pitou-sama! You don't recognize me?" The dog girl lamented. "It's me, Inuka! The king's former maid!"

Neferpitou looked at her with confusion trying to remember a time where she interacted with her. She was a dog chimera ant with sky blue hair and round glasses. Her stature proves that she is a few meters taller than Neferpitou. She had other features that were also more 'noticeable than Neferpitou's. "Oh! Meow I get it! That was you who I sensed moving back and forth from the kings position with my En!" She said.

"EEEEEE! You remembered me Pitou-sama? I'm so happy!" After saying that she hugged Pitou real tightly and started jumping up and down with her.

"Hey! G-get off!" Pitou yelled.

"Oh! Sorry Pitou sama! I usually get a little too excited for my own good. Hehehe" She laughs nervously. "By the way your majesty, don't you think your chest is a bit too small? Inuka said.

"Wh-what are you saying, all of a sudden? That's too personal!" Pitou responded.

"A queen should have more pride in her outer appearance...and...her inner appearance hehehe." Said Inuka with a perverted smirk on her face.

Neferpitou stared at Inuka obviously freaked out by her odd behavior. _"Wow...this girl is weird."_ She thought.

"Oh that's right! Pitou-sama, I present to you one of my special dishes, the-" however Pitou cut her off.

"Thanks but i'm not hungry right now. Just leave it on the bed, i'll have it later." She said.

"Awww, but I spent a lot of time on this dish! It was inspired by one of Pig's dishes! If you don't eat it fresh then you won't-" however she was cut off again.

"Thanks, but I'm really not hungry. I'll eat it later." Insisted Pitou.

"I understand...I'll just leave it here for when you're ready." She distressingly said. "Oh, before I forget, doctor Hippotsu wanted me to tell you that he's ready for you."

Pitou's face showed her surprise and then she responded with "I-I see. Thank you, tell him I'll be right there."

"Hehe, alrighty then, no problem Pitou-sama! I'll bark ya later! _Hehe...I wonder what kinda kinky stuff her and the doctor are into." She perversely thought._

Sometime after her interesting interaction with Inuka, Neferpitou made her way down to the medical ward of the palace to make an inquiry of her current condition. She was walking down the hallway with irrational, nerve racking thoughts in her mind. _"I was about to face off with Gon...but then my body collapsed. I awoke after being in a coma for five days and then I found out that the king..."_ she cut herself off from remembering Meruem and then continued her deep thinking with _"Anyway...I lost the ability to use nen, which would also mean that all the people I was manipulating during the selection are free from my control. Well, I guess that doesn't matter now. There's no reason to go through with a human selection anymore. All I want is to-"_ Pitou was interrupted from her thinking by a shout from down the hall.

Pitou saw someone running down the hall in front of her. With speed that could out match the late Cheetu. The person was yelling "THE KING IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING!" They then stopped in front of Pitou, slightly startling her. "GOOD MORNING YOUR MAJESTY!" he yelled.

Neferpitou looked at the chimera ant in front of her who had a noticeable amount of blue attire on him. But before she can get a good look he bolted. She then looked back at the blur behind her and asked "Who the hell was that?!" His voice continued to echo throughout the hallway "THE KING IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING!"

Suddenly a door opened near her with Hippotsu walking out of it.

"Ah, good to you again this morning your majesty!" Hippotsu declared.

"Uhm...good morning. You know you don't have to call me that, right? Neferpitou-sama is just fine." She affirmed.

"I understand. I'm just trying to properly give you your due respect." Hippotsu said." "Why don't you come in? I think I've figured out what happened to your aura." Pitou acknowledged him and walked into the room with Hippotsu walking behind her.

"Hey, who was that fast guy?" Pitou asked.

"Hm? Oh that kid; Jagren? I'd stay away from him...he is a bit...odd. He started patrolling the palace ever since the Dragon Dive incident in a rather persistent manner. Don't mind him." He said.

Neferpitou didn't know what to make of what she had just heard, but she decided to ignore it for now.

"Please have a seat here." He said. "Last night, I've examined your blood pressure, your heart rate among other things. Everything seemed fine until I looked at your X-ray." he lamented.

"What? But I don't have anything broken, you said so yourself!" Pitou insisted.

"Yes, your bone structure is fine, even your inner layers are intact." He claimed.

"Inner layers?" She said in a confused manner.

"Actually never mind about that. When I said x-ray I meant the node x-ray, this palace's medical fortunately had one. With it, I can see every single one of your aura nodes." He explained.

 _"Who would have thought we had something like that here."_ She thought.

Hippotsu continues "At first, I hypothesized that something happened to your nen sometime after after you've awoken from your coma, because you were still very strong and were able to break out of the steel binding I placed over you...again I apologize for that ma'am." He said.

Pitou responded to him "Why would you assume that? You do realize that my physical strength isn't connected to my nen right?" She scolded.

"What? Really?!" Hippotsu asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Want some proof?" Pitou teasingly asked.

"N-no...that's okay. I believe you. But if that is truly the case...then it must be after you had your fight with Gon. But that can't be...there isn't anything inhibiting your aura nodes. So I know for sure that there is no need for a nen exorcist. The only other possibility is that nodes have been destroyed completely."

Pitou looked at Hippotsu in surprise and said "Destroyed? How is that even possible?"

"Well there is a very obscure study that I've read about not too long ago. It could potentially explain the cause of irreversible damage to one's nen. The study of 'Restrictions' and 'Covenants'. Based on what I've read, it's possible for an individual to use an ability outside the norm of their nen attribute or gain a power beyond your normal limitations but at the risk of losing something of important. Let's assume during your fight with Gon, you activated an ability that cost you the use of your nen for the rest of your life."

Neferpitou responded with "You don't mean I did something like that? But I don't remember doing anything like that!"

"It's possible that while also giving up your nen, you sacrificed your memories of your fight with Gon." Hippotsu responded.

"Well...I can't deny that it's possible." Pitou sighs and puts her face in the palm of her hand as a sign of annoyance of the current situation.

Hippotsu responded to her "Well, I did say it was possible, but there's a chance it may not be true, it's only a hypothetical and by the way, I'm sure you don't even need your nen ability. You have your super strength after all. Your physical prowess is enough to defeat your enemies."

"That's not the problem. I had the ability to place someone under my control...but now I can't do that without my nen that would have been useful for taking over a country covertly."

Hippotsu looked at his queen who was clearly worried about the current situation she was in. He then responded to her with "Ma'am. Maybe this is a sign."

"What do you mean?" Pitou asked.

Hippotsu responded "Being in the medical field I don't really believe in miracles or anything outside a cause and effect occurrence, I've always believe in medicine and I always will. However sometimes someone can perceive a major change in their life as an opportunity to change along with it."

Neferpitou looked at Hippotsu and said "Meow I get it. What your saying it, I shouldn't dwell on the king's old ideals of conquering the world but rather managing the small nation of chimera ants itself!"

"Wait..." Hippotsu said with a worried expression on his face. "That's not what I me-" however before he could finish. Pitou made a declaration.

"I won't waste time with other countries. Meruem is dead so there's no reason for his ideals to live on. I'm the queen now, so, I'll just rule my own nation and forget about the humans. It'll be easy! Thanks for the pep talk Hippotsu, you make a good soldier ant." Pitou said.

Neferpitou then walked out of the ward and went on her way back to her room. _"I guess that's okay too. As long as someone is guiding us, the chimera ants future is secure. Even if it is different from lord Meruem's end goal."_ He thought to himself.

Once Pitou arrives back into the queen's quarters she starts to talk to herself "There's always a silver lining in the end. My nen may not come back, but I don't think I'll be needing it again." Said Pitou.

Pitou noticed the plate of food that Inuka left for her was still in her room. _"Ya know, I haven't eaten anything at all last night. I should've ate before I went to see Hippotsu but I was just too shaken up from my dream."_ She thought. "Hmmm, let's see what we got here." When Pitou lifted the stainless steel cover off of her plate she saw a human hand, severed from it's body and baked as if it was a common dish. She stared at the dish in disgust and then dropped the cover.

"What...the...hell?" Said Pitou.

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

"This is a human hand." Pitou said while staring at the dish. "I mean, Chimera ants eat humans all the time, right? Why am I suddenly uncomfortable with this?" She said while trying not to puke. "I can't eat this. It's too disgusting. Inuka needs to prepare me a new dish!" She yelled.

Neferpitou's sudden change in attitude alarmed her but not as much as the inedible meal prepared for her. She went to the palaces kitchen and decided to confront Inuka. As she marched on her way to the kitchen she heard snoring coming from somewhere far in the hallway. She decided to investigate so she could scold whoever is sleeping on the job. Already annoyed as she is, she refuses to tolerate slacking. As she gets closer to the source of the snoring she sees a slightly familiar face in the distance of the hall. It's Jagren, the young chimera ant who Hippotsu told her about.

She ponders as she looks at him sleeping on the ground with his hood over his head. He looked like a pre-teen child with Jaguar genes. He was attired with electric blue shorts, an ocean blue hoodie and a sky blue bandanna around his neck. _"Hmmm. He looks really young, and he's also how come I haven't seen him before? I guess Shaipouf did handle most of the recruiting. Sigh"_ She thought.

"Hey, get up." Pitou commanded. There was no response from the little Jaguar boy. He just continued to snore. It was definitely a surprise to Pitou who last saw him as very energetic and disruptive. She continued "Come on! Wake up already!" she said while nudging him back and forth. But he wouldn't budge no matter what she did. Obviously fed up with the lack of a response, Pitou decided to punch a hole in the wall next to him really hard. She succeeds and causes some debris to fall. Some soldier ants who were just passing by saw her and quickly ran away out of fear.

After all of that he still wouldn't wake up. Pitou who was now really annoyed by the insubordination pulled the young jaguar boy's hood off and prepared to attack him. However when she pulled his hood off he was snoring with a bubble in his nose, this brought back memories of Komugi to Pitou. The peaceful look of Jagren's made Pitou reminisce about Komugi's influence on the king and how much she meant to him. Thanks to this sense of compassion she decided to carry him to her quarters and let him rest there. "Honestly. What am I doing?" she said while clenching her teeth in embarrassment.

Pitou continued to march towards the kitchen thinking of what she was going to say for when she confronts Inuka. When she made it to the kitchen she met with Inuka and said. "Inuka...that dish-" however she was cut off.

"OH PITOU-SAMA! DID YOU LIKE IT?! Huh? Did you? Chef Pig taught me how to make that dish! OH HE'S SUCH A GOOD CHEF! I wish he were still here!" Inuka said.

Pitou looked at her with confusion. "Actually, I couldn't finish it." Said Pitou.

"Hm? But why? Was there too much salt on it? Oh, are you more of a brain person? I actually prefer the breast myself and-" before she could finish Pitou cut her off.

"Inuka, I'm going to be honest with you; I didn't eat the dish." Pitou claimed

Inuka looked at her while concerned "Huh? What do you mean you didn't eat the dish? Don't you like human meat?" She asked casually.

Pitou looked to the ground and said "I'm no longer...'comfortable' with human flesh."

Inuka was rightfully confused. All chimera ants ate human beings on a regular basis. Even being made from human genes didn't seem to faze them. "Forgive me Pitou-sama. I'm not sure I understand. You ate a human before right?" Inuka asked while jumping up and down.

"I realize that. But something in me has changed. For some reason, I can't stand the thought of eating another human." Pitou said. "Inuka, from now on. Only serve dishes that aren't made from human meat. Understood?" Pitou commanded.

Inuka looked at Pitou and was rather terrified of what she was saying. But she ultimately bowed and accepted what she said. Neferpitou left the kitchen to gather her thoughts. " _What's going on? This isn't like me at all. Why am I suddenly so bothered by things that never fazed me in the past? Is it because I lost my nen...or maybe...something else? Meow I understand! Yes, it's gotta be that! My aura is gone, some of my memories are gone and even bits of my personality are gone. Is there anything else I lost when I fought that kid?"_ Pitou looked at the palms of her hands while trying to figure out what was going on with her. " _This whole thing is starting to stress me out. I guess I'll go check on that Jagren and take my mind off of this."_

Pitou returned to her quarters once again to see if the sleeping Jaguar chimera ant was still sound asleep, however when she got there, he seemed to be absent from the room. "It looks like he woke up. He probably got nervous about being the queens quarters and made a break for it. HAH! I could imagine the look on his face." Pitou jokingly said. Suddenly she heard a rustling sound in the bathroom of her quarters thanks to her sensitive hearing. "Hm? Is he still here? Hehehe this should be fun!" Pitou said with a sinister looking smile.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Saherta. There is an apartment complex that is used as a shelter for those under the protection of the Hunter Association. Colt and Reina are currently in residence here. They have a bit of an awkward relationship despite Colt's best efforts to understand her. Reina was born with Kite's memories instead of the girl her body was originally made from, making the disparity in their relationship a lot more prominent. Colt enters Kite's room who happens to be reading a book about the history of a man named Don Freecs. "Hey Reina..." said Colt.

"I told you already, my name is Kite." she responded.

"Right. Well Kite, I'm sure this experience must be odd for you; being reborn as a Chimera ant with all of your memories fully intact. I just wanted to check in on you." He said calmly.

Kite responded with "I'm fine. I've already gotten used to it."

Colt tried to rebuttal "Well, it just seems like you're not taking this whole situation too well. Aren't you worried about any of this?"

Kite decided to entertain the conversation just for a moment. " _Sigh_ I've been through weirder situations. This is just one of the many that I have to accept. Although there is one concern I do have. Do you think you could help me understand?"

Colt's eyes widened as a result of finally being glad that Kite was opening up to him. "Y-yes! If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them."

Kite closed the book in his hand and looked at Colt with a rather serious expression and then she said "Am I going to die soon?"

Colt looked at Kite with a rather shocked expression. "W-why would you ask that?" He asked.

"If you think about it, the body I'm in now aged pretty quickly, within the span of a few months in fact. How long will it be before this girl is a fully grown adult. And how long afterward before I become an elderly woman?" Kite firmly said.

The room was silent for a while. Colt didn't know what to say for he didn't know himself. Reina's growth rate was astonishing to him even among his Chimera brethren unique features he has never seen a case like this. He responds with "I'm not sure to be honest. But Reina I-" however Kite cuts him off.

"It's Kite." she says.

"R-right. Listen, I'm sure everything is going to be alright. You don't have to worry." Colt reassures. However Kite went back to reading her book knowing full well that Colt didn't have the answer she needed. "Well I'll be in the other room if you need me." says Colt who has left Kites room.

Kite was now alone with her thoughts. She thought back at the time 'he' fought Neferpitou. He thought back at the pain he felt from losing his arm but was able to stand his ground. Knowing those could be his final moments, he readied his crazy slots ability and waited for Pitou to make another move. "Wise decision Killua. Now take Gon and run!" He pleaded with the white haired boy. Once Killua was no longer in range of the fight. Kite asked Pitou a question. "You're much stronger then some of the other chimera ants I've faced so far. Tell me, are you one of the royal guard?" Kite asked.

"Hm? How do you know about that?" Pitou asked with a rather devious smile

"Your speed and power far outmatch that of your soldier ants. I assume one with as much nen output as yourself would be of a higher ranking." answered Kite.

"Interesting. So not all humans are as dumb as I thought. You're capable of using your heads! Hm...speaking of heads; I'd like to see what makes you so intelligent. Won't you let me pick at that brain of yours? Come on mister human...give me...your head!" Neferpitou said while spewing a terrifying aura.

Kite's attempt to buy time has failed, he knew had to activate the secret number of his crazy slots before she could lunge at him. If he had a little bit more time he would be able predict and possibly control where he would end up however that was no longer an option. He had to hope his next life would be as ideal as the one he had lived up till now. He activated the number in his crazy slots that has never been used by him before. This number was able to transfer his consciousness and memories onto a newborn vessel to perform a pseudo-reincarnation of sorts. "I have no choice." He muttered to himself.

Neferpitou lunged at him while aiming for his neck. The slots rolled the secret number that Kite had prepared. And once it did, he closed his eyes, smirked confidently and said "Damn, bad spin."

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

 _"This is bad! Very bad! If the queen finds me in her room, I'm done for!"_ Jagren frantically thought to himself. He found himself within the Queens bed where he was forbidden to enter this was obviously after his usual routine of patrolling through the hallways of the palace while yelling at the top of his lungs like a mad prophet saying "THE KING IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING!" Jagren was tasked with daily, morning patrols by Leol.

Pouf emphasized to the Jaguar kid to never let the enemy see him. It was no secret that he was the fastest one in the palace his top speed was recorded at 700 miles per hour. He barely beat Cheetu's record despite never even meeting him outside of Squadron meetings. Jagren used to be an officer of Leol's squadron. Jagren admired Leol for a number of reasons, his presence showed that he was truly "king of the jungle". And the way he always had rallied up both Hina and Hagya to have his back at all times made a lasting impression on the kid. Leol was always annoyed by the Jagren's hyperactive nature so to get rid of him he always gave him petty tasks to accomplish like cleaning the room or patrolling the nest. Doing it as often as he did made him a lot more capable in completing tasks with speed. Each day his speed increased to a point where he surpassed even Cheetu 'the king of speed'. Jagren was honored to be in Leol's squad and was willing to do anything to make him acknowledge his efforts. After a while Leol did recognize his efforts and payed more attention to him, even if it was just to mess with him. The two became somewhat close.

A few days before the Dragon Dive incident, it was reported that Leol had gone missing after a mission he was sent on by Neferpitou to investigate the riots that were started by the citizens of a certain part of East Gorteau. Leol invited all of his officers except for Jagren. Mostly because he was worried that he would get in the way. He and his squadron went on the offensive to save Neferpitou's puppet soldiers; not for the soldiers benefit but rather for King Meruem's. A huge battle took place here. Killua fought against one unit of Leol's group and Morel fought another. Morel's battle against Leol is what ultimately cost Leol is life. Jagren never saw him again. Out of respect for the person he admired the most, he followed Leol's final order and to this day. He runs around patrolling the palace, never letting a human see him. To him, Leol was the true and rightful King. The king may be dead, but he will live on through the hearts of the Chimera ants.

 _"I know! I'll escape through the window out there...but then I'd have to open it! DAMN IT THAT'D TAKE TOO LONG and she'd find me!"_ Jagren thought to himself. _"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! She's coming this way, I hear her walking towards the bathroom! Did she hear me? *muffled screams* What am I gonna do?! IT'S TOO LATE TO RUN AWAY! HELP ME LEOL SAMA!"_ he prayed. As Jagren was panicking in the bathroom, Neferpitou opened the door. She could sense that Jagren was hiding in the octagon shaped tub with the curtains covering it. He didn't realize that his silhouette was the focal point of the room.

 _"He must be stupid if he thinks he could hide from me. No sound can escape my ears after all."_ she thought. "Hmmm! I could have sworn there was an intruder in my bathroom. I guess I was wrong, oh well." Pitou jokingly said, putting Jagren into a false sense of security.

 _"Did she really not hear me?"_ Jagren thought with his heartbeat racing.

"I guess I'll just go back to my room then, there's no way anyone would be in here. After all everyone knows just how terrifying I can be. They would instantly regret entering my room without my permission, I'd definitely make sure of that." Pitou said in a teasing voice.

Jagren's fear hit it's peak resulting in him starting to tremble violently. Then he suddenly made an unexpected move "FORGIVE ME YOUR MAJESTY!" he jumped as he shouted.

He lunged at Pitou with tears in his eyes. Pitou noticed this and thought he was about to attack her so she decided to enter a defensive stance however before she could do that, she noticed her arms were reaching forward instead of back. She reached out with both of her hands in time to catch the weeping cat boy and instinctively hold him in her arms. " _Why did I just do that?"_ She thought to herself. Now she had the crying boy held in her arms the same way a mother would embrace their child. _"Why...am I?"_ She questioned. She shook her head to regain focus and noticed Jagren couldn't stop crying. "Hey, I was kidding, I'm not gonna hurt you kid, come on stop crying."

He continued to cry for a while. Pitou held him in her arms for a bit longer until he calmed himself. It may have been awkward, however Pitou found it necessary. She didn't want to see one of her underlings in distress after all. "Um, y-your majesty! Th-thank you!" He bowed as he thanked her.

Neferpitou responds with "Yeah...don't mention it. And just call me Pitou-sama. I'm not used to being called that right now."

"Of course Pitou-sama!" He responds with a smile.

Pitou explained to Jagren that she found him sleeping in the hallway when he should have been on duty. She was evidently bothered by his lack of awareness at the time, but it seemed to be trivial to her much more than it did earlier. She just wanted to know why he fell asleep while on duty. Jagren looked down in embarrassment and explained his back story to Pitou. It was obvious that when he first saw Meruem he was terrified of him. He ran the moment his nen was exposed from the queens womb. Meruem frightened a lot of the other soldier ants as well but not as much as Jagren. Jagren swore loyalty to his squadron leader Leol and only Leol. He didn't care about Meruem at all. When he found out that Leol decided to work for directly under Meruem, he thought about running away and never looking back, however he knew he had nowhere else to go. Humans were everywhere he knew that they would hate him just for existing. That reality was a harsh one indeed.

"I promised him I'd obey his last order your majesty. I can't just disrespect that. I patrol the hallways...because that's what he wanted me to do and it's all I know how to do." Jagren lamented.

"I see. So that's why you insist on patrolling the hallways." Pitou figured as she put her finger under her chin.

"S-so Pitou-sama. What do you think?" He asked.

Pitou looked at him and made a devious smile and said "I think...you still haven't answered my question I don't care about your past y'know."

Jagren was once again frightened by her "Um, well I-" he was interrupted by her.

"Because, I only care about your future. What can I do to help you not fall while on duty?" She asked.

Jagren's eyes lit up. He was once again blindsided by Pitou. He always thought the former Royal Guard member was scary and dangerous. Out of respect he approached her earlier in the day just to greet her; thinking that if he can make a good first impression he would be spared any trouble with her. But now, he saw who she really was. She actually cares for her people. That one sincere question gave Jagren confidence in his new queen. Fortunately they got to know each other better.

It has only been one day and already she has found three unique soldier ants that were loyal to her without question. Pitou finally realized what it meant to be a ruler. Unconditional love, trust and devotion was something she figured was exclusive to the Royal Guard when it came to the king. However Hippotsu who admired for Meruem's leadership qualities and Pitou's work ethic, Inuka who's personality really resonated with hers, and Jagren the hard working young chimera ant all had those same qualities to her as she did for the late king. This gave her an idea.

Sometime after having her heart to heart with Jagren, Pitou realized a lot of the soldier ants were often disorganized and disorderly. The three Soldier ants she met in particular, Hippotsu, Inuka, and Jagren obviously had personal issues that would get in the way of their service to her. She decided to call a mandatory meeting for all three of them. All three of them obediently gathered into the main hall of the Palace. Pitou made the following declaration "The three of you are very interesting. You have certain aspects about yourselves that I never would have expected." She complimented.

"Thank you very much Pitou-sama, but you needn't waste your words on us milady!" Hippotsu humbly replied. Inuka was just looking down at the floor, seemingly too nervous to talk to respond to her while Jagren was staring into space.

She continued with "But meow I understand that you each have something holding you back. As your queen I think it would be best If I helped you in the areas you are weak in to further improve on what you already excel at."

"Hm? Is that really necessary Pitou-sama?" Hippotsu said. "I feel you needn't waste time with your soldier ants who are dedicated to you." He added.

Inuka was still looking down, obviously still bothered about the conversation she had with Pitou earlier that day. Pitou said "It's important to me that you three become the best of the best. From now on think of me as more than just your Queen. Think of me as someone you can rely on. After all, we're friends...right Inuka?" Pitou asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes. That's right, Pitou-sama!" Inuka answered with glee. She seemingly felt better knowing that Pitou didn't hold anything against her.

Jagren was scratching his ear in utter confusion. He still didn't know why this meeting was necessary. "Uh, Pitou-sama?" He said.

"What is it J?" She abbreviated.

"What are we going to be doing exactly?" He tilted his head as he asked her.

Pitou smirked and shut her eyes in confidence. "I'm glad you asked. The reason I called you all here is: to tell you that I'm going to train the three of you become my Royal Guard, meow do you get it?!" She said as she waved her index finger.

The three of them looked at Pitou with utter shock in their eyes while Pitou laughed to herself.

Meanwhile back in Saherta. Reina calls Colt into her room. "What is it Reina?" said Colt.

"It's Kite. Anyway, I have a huge favor to ask." She said.

Colt looked at her and then with a smile on his face he said "Sure! Anything you need."

Kite delcared to him "Colt. Take me back to the NGL. I want to see the place where I died and the place where I was reborn."

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

 **(I apologize this took so long. I was away for an entire week.)**

"Milady. I'm not sure I heard you properly. said Hippotsu.

"But... I can't fight Pitou-sama!" said Inuka.

Rightfully so, the three soldier ants that left a good impression on Pitou really apprehensive about being members of the Royal Guard for someone as important as their queen. It's only natural that most soldier ants feel inferior to their royal members. And these ants weren't made to be royalty in the first place. It was unheard of to break the chain of command that the previous queen tried to establish. But because they were all part human, they had a will all of their own.

Neferpitou approached Inuka and grabbed her by the hands and said to her "Inuka I know for a fact that someone who was devoted to the king as you is perfectly capable of becoming a royal guard." Pitou turns her head to Hippotsu and says "That goes for you too Hippotsu."

Hippotsu looks to the ground and says "Milady. With all due respect, I don't think this is appropriate for a doctor. And further, I don't have any combat capabilities either. I would be awful on the battlefield."

Pitou tried to reassure both Inuka and Hippotsu for a few minutes until a child-like voice took over the sounds waves emitted in this room. "PITOU-SAMA! THANK YOU! I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!" said Jagren.

Pitou looked at Jagren and said "Seems like someone isn't afraid." Pitou winked at Jagren and Jagren grinned at her.

Inuka and Hippotsu looked at each other and nodded. Inuka said to Neferpitou "Alright, Pitou-sama. I trust you, if you'll allow me to train under you than I'd be honored." Hippotsu nodded in agreement.

"Good, it's decided then. First of all, can any of you use Nen?"

The room became silent. The three members of the royal guard frowned in embarrassment.

Pitou sighed and then said "Well, it looks like we have some work to do. Come on, it's time we prepped you for your promotion."

For the next three days Neferpitou would train them individually and teach them how to use Nen. It would be essential to the new order of the Chimera ants. A stable government not inspired by tyranny, but on peace and infrastructure. She hadn't realized it yet, but Neferpitou was about to change the future of all Chimera ants forever.

In Saherta there is a well established airline company that is based in Yorknew City. Reina and her adoptive father Colt are there now.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Colt questioned.

"This is the only way I can truly accept my new form. I have to do this. And don't worry, I don't plan on dying a second time." Reina boldly claimed with a smirk.

Earlier that day

"Why would you want to go back there?!" Colt questioned harshly. "You really shouldn't even want to see your old body...especially after the things I heard about what happened to it".

Kite questioned Colt with a confused look on his face. "What exactly happened to my previous body?"

"I'm sorry but I can't answer that. I'm really sorry Rei- I mean...Kite." Said Colt as he shuddered a bit. The gruesome details that he heard from Morel about what happened to Kite really stuck with him. "Look, I think it would be best if we just stayed in the city. We are considered magical beasts now, so we have the same rights as humans, why don't we go to a restaurant or something?" He pleaded.

"...I'd like to be alone right now. Please exit my room." Kite commanded.

"But Reina-" before Colt could finish, she lashed at him with her next words.

"IT'S KITE! JUST GO AWAY!" she yelled. Colt was surprised at her sudden display of anger but even so, he nodded and left her room. " _That was completely unlike me..."_ She thought. A half hour passed and Colt decided to at least listen to Reina's request.

Colt knew this was important to her but he had to get more information before he totally approves. "Listen. I know what happened to you was unfair but I can't allow you to just go back without telling me why. Why do you want to go back to NGL?" He asked.

Reina replies with "I told you, I want to see the place where I was murdered. As hard as it may be to believe, it's going to help me accept my current situation among other things apparently the Hunter Association has custody of the entire South Yorbian strip. Apparently it's being classified as a nature reserve. I'm sure it's most likely to cover up the incident that took place there, but either way it should be safer than it once was. Right?"

Colt looked at Reina with desperation, almost as if begging him to reconsider. However Colt knew her mind was made up. "Fine, I'm sure I can ask Morel to arrange the flight for us. But I still don't think this is good idea."

Reina thanked Colt for understanding and went back to reading her book.

It's now the day of the trip. Reina and Colt in line with no luggage. Some people are staring at Colt, some stare with intrigue while others in fear or disgust. Overall, this means the public is still not used to magical beasts walking among them. Colt isn't bothered by the stares due to his concern for Reina's safety. He cares more about her than anything else. While thinking about the tragedies that occurred in the queens nesting grounds, he started to feel a bit anxious, he had a flashback of how the King killed Peggy, a comrade and close friend of his. He couldn't help but feel as if they were returning to a hell on Earth.

In Reina's mind one thought stood out to him the most. A thought that plagued her way more than the status of his old body, way more than the possible hidden dangers of the new NGL. It was about his pupil and how he failed to be there for him. "Gon. Thank you for trying, but now it's for me to return the favor."

End of Chapter


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

A few days after Pitou promoted Inuka, Jagren and Hippotsu to Royal Guard. They started going through some intense training that they'd never imagined would be possible. Each of them went through rough physical exercises which ranged from endurance tests, to strength analysis. Neferpitou than gave them quizzes based on their memory and general knowledge. The results varied among all of them.

Neferpitou recorded the results of their tests. She started with Inuka's stats.

 ** _Inuka's stats_**

 _Strength 12_

 _Endurance 23_

 _Dexterity 9_

 _Intelligence 68_

 _Nen: Unknown_

Neferpitou looks over her records of Inuka and notices she lacks in several areas "Hmmmm, she's awfully weak when it comes to physical activities. However she's surprisingly knowledgeable about human behavior. She may act quirky but she can be a valuable asset when the time is right. She didn't use nen at all during her training at all. Maybe she needs to awaken it. Hmmm." Pitou looks up at the ceiling and says "I guess I should help her with that!" Neferpitou made arrangements to talk to Inuka. She was more concerned with the order of how she was going to run her Kingdom, she wanted nothing more than to make sure everyone was at their best. Inuka arrived in the massive storage room that was used by former secretary Bizeff. Pitou was using this area for private meetings since it seemed to be the quietest place in the palace.

"You wanted to see me, Pitou-chaan?" Said Inuka in a cute voice.

"Yes, thank you for coming Inuka". Said Neferpitou who was used to Inuka's less than formal approach. "I'll get straight to the point...you're very weak." She said bluntly.

Inuka gasped and started to shiver when she noticed Pitou wasn't going to hold back. "P-Pitou sama...I told you that I..."

Pitou interrupted the poor dog girl and said "Inuka you have to stop being so timid! I haven't known you for that long but already I can see what's making you fall behind. Look, I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on you but I feel like you can become a great member of the royal guard if you just pushed yourself a little further."

Inuka looked down and kept silent. Neferpitou approached her and grabbed her hands trying to reassure her, and than she said "First, let's awaken your Nen!".

Inuka looked at Pitou with a shocked expression on her face. "I'm sorry did you say n-nen?"

Pitou looked at her with a smirk on her face and said "Yep!"

After some time had passed Neferpitou mentioned "A while back...I used my nen ability to train the ant soldiers and allow them to awaken nen for themselves. However, meow that I look back to that time..." Neferpitou held her arm and looked to the ground in disgust "my methods were too cruel."

"What do you mean Pitou-sama?" Inuka questioned nervously

Pitou looked at Inuka and regained her composure "Actually, never mind. The past is in the past right? Come on Inuka, I'll teach you how to awaken your nen. Even if I can no longer use it, I can still show you, right?"

Inuka responded with glee "Y-yes! Pitou-sama! Th-thank you very much! _I want to be praised even more...I...need to make Pitou-sama proud. Even if i'm not qualified, she thinks I am. Thank you so much Pitou-sama, I won't let you down._ " Her thoughts echoed in her mind as she prepared to awaken her nen.

Meanwhile in Swardani City, the Hunter Associations top members; the Zodiacs were having a meeting; discussing the past threat that befell the NGL and The Republic of East Gorteau. Cheadle Yorkshire _the dog_ the current chairman of the Hunter Association is only now having time to consider how to maintain the nature reserves of the NGL and what action to take on The East Gorteau palace.

Cheadle mentions that their should be an emphasis on the safety of Chimera ants and humans that dwell within the isolated region. "It's imperative that we don't undermine the value of sentient life of any kind. The chimera ants may have a social system that differs greatly from human beings, but that doesn't mean they aren't intelligent beings with sound reasoning and able to act on their emotions."

Maizastom the _cow_ follows up with "Though it may be important to provide them regulations on how to coexist with humankind, we mustn't forget the risk that is involved. As you mentioned, the Chimera Ants formulate a their government similar to that of a militaristic hierarchy as well as a monarchy. Thanks to the reports by the Chimera ant known as Colt, it's much simpler to break down." He picks up a graph explaining the the chimera ant social system and shows the potential danger of a new queen that could potentially give birth to a powerful nen user.

Cheadle looks at the chart carefully and then closes her eyes to think of a response _"It may be a risk, but this is the road we have to take. This is what Chairman Netero would have want._ I understand your concern Mizaistom, however there is living proof that some Chimera ants have broken away from that system. Based on our research, it seems that some ants that have that possess human genes are able to break away from said social structure and become independent. In the end free will is what's key here. We have human who think freely as well as chimera ants that do the same. I propose we up our activity in the NGL nature reserve to help the humans and chimera ants find a neutral ground."

Mizaistom nods and silently accepts Cheadle's proposal. However Cluck the _chicken_ doesn't seem to agree with her proposition "HEH?! You want to what now? You do realize how dangerous those things are right? They killed the chairman!"

Than out of nowhere Ginta the _sheep_ started crying showcasing how he hadn't yet accepted Netero'd death. Pyon the _rabbit_ looks at Ginta for a second and says "way to go, now you've got him started again" before looking back at her phone.

"If we can get back on topic, that would be much appreciated" Cheadle says while scolding the more immature members of the Zodiacs.

Pyon responds to her with a bored and condescending remark while looking at her phone "Jeez, what does any of this matter anyway? I mean this seems to be out of our league, so why not let the government handle this?"

Cheadle clarifies with a stern voice "It 'matters' to us because V6 is refusing to get involved with this issue in the first place, we have to discuss this and come up with a solution as quickly as possible."

Kanzai then looks up at the ceiling while frowning and follows up with "Heh, so those bastards are too lazy to deal with it themselves huh? Leaving us in the dust like that, who do those punks think they are?"

Before anyone can say anything further, Beans charges through the door of the meeting room shouting about an emergency. Cheadle signals Mizaistom to put this issue in the back of their minds for now. It was clear to the both of them that something **beyond** the boarders of the Yorbian continent is now more of a concern than anything else.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

 **I apologize for taking so long. I'll continue to update weekly from now on!**

"It's called water divination" said Pitou

"Water divination? How does it work exactly?" Inuka question came from a lack of experience with the very nature of Nen and it's capabilities. Rightfully so, she pondered the benefits of a leaf floating on top of a glass of water could actually provide. After training for several hours in order to unlock Inuka's nen, Inuka grew evermore frustrated with her own weakness and her lack of progress. Even though she has gotten through the basics much faster than most humans.

Pitou and Inuka spent hours training prior to the current time in order to awaken her nen. Pitou knowing how sensitive Inuka is went easy on her but she wasn't showing any results. So she decided to get a bit more aggressive with her training. After hours of tears and whining she awakened her nen. Pitou then taught her about the four principles of Nen and then talked about Nen abilites. It was surprisingly very easy for Inuka to follow along and recall every ounce of information presented to her. She has already progressed to the part where she finds out what her personal Nen type would be.

"Okay...but I don't see how this is going to help. You said to use hatsu, correct?" the dog girl questioned. ""Yep, just as I explained before. Come ooon~, hurry up already. I want to see what kind of aura you have!" She exclaimed with an excited yet commanding tone.

"Inuka nodded and followed Pitou's command. She placed her hands around the cup filled with water and surrounded it with her aura. It was evident that she had learned to control nen within mere hours. The aura emitted from her body surrounded the cup of water. Sadly she yielded no notable results, "Pitou-sama...nothing happened..." Inuka said in a sad voice.

Pitou placed her finger under her chin, trying to figure out what could be wrong. She suddenly had an idea "Inuka...I think you should taste the water." She said.

"Taste it? But...is it edible after surrounded it with aura?" Inuka asked nervously.

"I dunno, just do it." Pitou commanded. Inuka poked the water and noticed it seemed to be quite denser that usual, she then licked her finger and noticed how sweet it was. "Huh? It's kind of sweet." She claimed.

Pitou crossed her arms and smiled "I guess that means you're a Transmuter."

"Really? I-I can't believe it! YAY! I'M SO EXCITED PITOU-SAMA! OH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TEACHING ME HOW TO USE NEN! _Thank goodness, this way I won't have to fight anyone up close...right?"_

Pitou nodded in agreement and said "I'm glad you're happy with what you got, I remember how powerful I felt when I found out I was a..." she paused for a second... "actually never mind."

"Is everything okay Pitou-sama?" Inuka asked.

"Y-yeah, everything's fine I'm just going to take a walk for a minute I'll be right back." Pitou said obviously bothered about something.

"Um...okay Pitou-sama...I'll wait for you here." Said Inuka.

Pitou walked out of the office and strolled through the hallways of the palace. There were a noticeable amount of worker ants still repairing the damages to the palace due to the dragon dive incident. A lot of them were actually afraid of Pitou and usually tried to keep their interactions with her very formal and short. They nodded their heads as Pitou passed by in respect for there queen and proceeded their work after she would pass. Pitou ignored them as she was in deep thought. _"It's been a while since I lost the ability to use my nen... did I use **Restriction and Covenant**? Or...perhaps...did I do something else entirely? I need to figure this out, maybe there is a chance I can get my nen back if I do so."_

Pitou ended up walking so far into the palace that she got lost and ended up in an area she wasn't familiar with. "Huh? Where is this?" She asked herself. It was evident that she had no idea where she was. She seemed to be alone, nobody's presence was near her. The room got even darker as she was trying understand her current surroundings. Pitou entered a fighting position. "Who's there? If this is your idea of a joke you better start running for your life!" She boldly claimed. Pitou assumed that this was some illusory Nen ability that was meant to throw her off guard, but she thought that none of her subordinates would dare defy her, but than right after that she thought of the worker ants who might seemed distant from her could have set a trap to overthrow her. Several thoughts were swarming through her head until glowing red aura appeared behind her. The atmosphere was tense and Pitou started to shake while sweating heavily..."this feeling...I've felt it before..." She said.

Knowing this feeling she was afraid to turn around but than decided to do it anyway. She slowly turned around and noticed a pitch black silhouette of the boy who tried to kill her once before. "Yeah...I recognize this feeling...this intense aura filled with malice... my life force slowly fading away... it's empty and hollow...I can't breathe...I can't breathe! I know now, this feeling is...this feeling is..."

"This feeling is death."

End of Chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

"Gon? You're here? But h-how?!" Pitou yelled at the shadowy figure while remaining in a defensive pose. "Why do you keep appearing, why won't you leave me alone!?" Neferpitou's anger grew to a breaking point, she was fed up with this Gon lookalike. The human boy that supposedly "killed her" is leering at her with an even more sinister presence than before.

The sinister presence is becoming even more sinister than before, the darkness swirling around only grows greater as the two of them become ever more angry. Pitou suddenly lunged at the shadowy figure hoping to get silence it once and for all however as she lunged at him. As her claws were getting closer and closer the his throat however as her hand got closer to it she started to gradually become more sluggish. She got even slower in mere seconds. Slower... and slower... and slower...and...slower...and...slower... until...she came to a halt, right at the moment she was going to grip his neck with her claws, her entire body became suspended in the air while in stasis just like a still image. She noticed her lack of mobility and started to panic internally.

"I...can't move! It's happening again, am I going to die for real this time? Why now?! This can't be happening! IT JUST CAN'T!" Neferpitou's inner thoughts echoed in her mind, significantly increasing the amount of panic she's dealing with. The shadowy figure raised it's hand at her and released more of it's insidious aura at Pitou. Tears began to flow down her face as none of her other function would work at the moment, even though she's faced death head on before it was for something much bigger than her. A cause worth fighting for but now is the first time she ever feared her own life being taken. The first time she has truly feared death.

Pitou then suddenly awoke in medical ward of the palace. This time she was familiar with her surroundings.

"Hippotsu...are you there?" she called out.

"Yes milady, are you alright? Could you tell me what happened?" he asked.

"Well, I guess I can tell you, or rather I SHOULD tell you. I've been hallucinating a lot lately." Pitou claimed.

"I see, and what were these hallucinations of exactly?" Asked Hippotsu

"They were of that boy...the one who 'killed' me. I see him almost everywhere, as if he was haunting me. Every time I try to get a grasp of what it could possibly be, he ends up trying to kill me." Said Pitou "Every nyow and then I'll see him painted in nothing but black almost as if his anger is reaching out to me from the depths of hell itself. Oh, I don't mean to be dramatic but that is what I've been experiencing lately."

As we was writing notes down, Hippotsu looked at his queen with pity in his eyes "I'm sorry you've had to deal with this lately milady, I'll do everything in my ability to figure out what's causing this."

"Thanks Hippotsu. Anyway, tell me...how did your training go?"

"Oh, the training... my queen, I wasn't able to get around to it." He responded nervously.

Pitou looked raised her eyebrow at Hippotsu "Why haven't you? You do realize that a member of the Royal guard has to be strong enough to protect their queen?"

"Of course milady...however I fear you may be disappointed with my lack of combat skills, I'd give up my life for you my queen but I feel like without any other medical staff in the palace it would ultimately bear negative results, thus I'll have to humbly decline, no disrespect you milady. Please understand." Hippotsu said with confidence.

Pitou looked to the ground and recalled what Hippotsu's stats were during his tests.

 ** _Hippotu's stats_**

 _Strength 32_

 _Endurance 17_

 _Dexterity 84_

 _Intelligence 200_

 _Nen: Emission_

"If i'm remembering correctly, you did pretty well on most of the tests and your stats were pretty well rounded." Pitou tried to reassure Hippotsu.

Hippotsu responded with "Thank you for the kind words my queen, but I'm afraid what you've marked down just isn't accurate at all. I never showed you my nen ability nor have I actually attempted to train at all."

"But Hippotsu, I watched you. Alongside Inuka and Jagren. I saw all of you training."

"I-I can assure you milady, it's unrealistic to think I was actually training with them two of them. Perhaps...it was someone else. Someone who possibly took my form? Ah yes! There was such a person. I believe he was a part of mistress Zazan's squadron."

"Who?" she asked

"His name escapes me, but he's a chimera ant that has illusory abilities I believe. He's a prankster and quite the troublemaker. He gives a lot of the worker ants a hard time...it's odd because he should have left the palace weeks before we found you. It's not impossible that he'd try to cause you harm but it's highly unlikely since he hasn't been known to do that in the past. Could he be causing your hallucinations?"

Pitou wanted to get a better understanding of what she's hearing "So you're telling me that some prankster with the power an illusory nen power pretended to be you? Hippotsu, you really are reaching far with these excuses..."

"But, I'm not ly-" he was cut off before he could finish.

"Fine. I understand you don't want to be my royal guard. I'll just have to find someone else."

Pitou stormed out of the medical ward leaving Hippotsu dumbfounded.

Pitou's started to think of a possible replacement for Hippotsu as she was walking back to the office where Inuka was waiting. " _Come to think of it. I haven't really met any of the worker ants yet. Ah well, it's not like they really matter. What I need to find is another person who was directly under the squadron leaders...or maybe...I could find one of the ex-squadron leaders that were serving under the previous queen. That could work, I'll just have to find them all."_ Pitou thought while smirking.

She made a sharp turn back the way she entered the hallway so she could get back to Inuka as quickly as possible. There was an odd stench that Pitou smelled as she got closer to the corner of the hallway. As she got closer the stench got even stronger " _Is that the smell of blood?"_ She thought.

She ran towards the source of the smell which was at the end of the hallway. When she arrived, she noticed that all of the the worker ants she passed by earlier were in pieces. Multiple corpses were torn so horribly that to the point that they were unrecognizable. "This is...awful who could have done this?!" Pitou shouted. "Could this have been what I did when I was hallucinating about Gon?" She looked at each member who was violently slaughtered by her own hand. She didn't realize that expendable worker ants were killed mercilessly by means of her hallucination, she was disgusted with herself and distraught the cat girl who evidently had no trouble with murder in the past has changed, she realized this but she didn't care. All that mattered now was her dilemma, something had to be done about her hallucinations. She looked to the ground and clenched her teeth. "No more of this...I'm sick of it! I NEED TO GET GON OUT OF MY HEAD ONCE AND FOR ALL! Even if this one isn't real...I have to kill Gon."

Elsewhere

" _Achoo~_ "

"Hm? Are you catching a cold?"

"Um...I don't think so...it just kinda came outta nowhere."

"I see. Well, you know what they when you sneeze out of nowhere like that."

"There's a saying? What do they say?"

"Somebody must be talking about you."

"Really? That's an odd thing to say where did it come from?

"Hmmm, I believe it was a superstition that was popularized in the Kakin Empire and other nations on the Azian continent. Years ago a strange rumor went around in the country that claimed if you talked about someone behind their back, that person would sneeze in response. It's funny because nobody really knows how that superstition began. It just kind of came out of nowhere, I guess you have to be Azian to understand it."

"That seems to be very specific. Why sneezing?"

"Who knows? That's just how the saying goes kiddo!"

"Well if that's the case, maybe it was Killua!"

"Hm?"

"Killua must have been talking about me! But wait...what if he was making fun of me?! Gah! I'll never know!"

"Aunt Mito, I'm gonna call him right now and make him pay for making fun of me!"

"Gon, you really shouldn't-"

"It's payback time KILLUAAAA!"

"Hehe... _he's too pure for this cruel world...Ging...you were right to bring him home."_

 ** _End of Chapter_**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

"Gon. I'm sorry I have to say this...but I have to kill you now." In response the tears flowing down Gon's face stream even further. "For the King" Pitou says. In order to assure him that his final moments were near Pitou made a battle pose with her right arm being the focal point of her offensive position. Gon thought to himself

"Kill me? Pitou's not going to heal Kite?" The internal conflict within his psyche had finally hit it's peak. An insidious aura slowly started to form inside the boy. This aura was evidently pure darkness. A corruption that resembled his hatred towards Neferpitou.

When a powerful nen user loses their will to live, an opportunity of even greater power becomes possible. Gon was going to use that opportunity to activate 'Covenant' a powerful nen ability that grants almost unlimited power to the user. However there is a condition for this power to be activated, in order to cast covenant one must enable a 'restriction' unto themselves in order to maintain the spirit of "give and take" of this powerful nen ability. An eternal curse that he'd have to live with for the rest of his days, this restriction needs to be equal to the amount of power he needs. Gon was willing to go through with the process of activating Covenant in order to defeat Pitou.

In this particular case; Gon Freecs' "Covenant" was to rapidly age into his future body within a matter of seconds allowing him to have the power of years worth of nen training. His restriction would be to never be able to use nen again. Ultimately while under the immense emotional stress he concluded it was worth it. The tension surrounding Gon and Pitou suddenly grew. Gon's body was wrapped in a red cloak symbolizing the the intense emotional pain he was in. Pitou sensed Gon's will perfectly, thus making her fear that he would be able to unleash a power greater than the king himself.

While flinching from the wind pressure that was building up, Pitou decided she needed to act before something bad happened. However before she could act, her consciousness faded and her entire world became pitch black.

The silhouette of a monstrous figure formed within the mass of aura surrounding what used to be an eleven year old boy. Pitou opened her eyes trying to desperately to get a grasp of what she was facing. She could barely even squint her eyes due to to raging gale force emitting from Gon's aura. "Th-this is really bad. I can't let him get stronger. I have to kill him here and now...because the king's life will definitely be in danger!" She reasoned with herself and activated her hatsu specifically a move called ' **Terpsichora'.** Pitou quickly raised her left leg and took the stance of the crane. Immediately her hatsu formed a puppet that had the appearance of a malevolent ballerina like figure that wears a mask over its eyes. In connected several strings to Pitou's body in order to aid her through combat. Pitou commands the evil puppet to break its limits further increasing her muscle mass. She lunges at the figure cloaked in darkness and...then...she｛92」「：8991」「」「「」「「「「/」」」」」789」」「」」91708. a1 a2 error -

"What?" A voice questioned. "What just happened? I can't remember what I was doing." The person questioning himself was in a room, alone. Sitting in a room that looks more luxurious than anything he has seen in the heaven's arena suites.

"Gon?" A voice called out to the boy sitting alone on the king sized bed of this room. It was a sweet and gentle voice, not holding any malice inside at all. "Are you alright?" The gentle voice questioned out of genuine concern.

The boy looked to his right and saw her...Neferpitou was stepping out of the bathroom, completely exposed. There were so many questions Gon wanted to ask...but he just couldn't find the strength to ask them.

The scenario from before occurred once again. Pitou lunged at Gon only to result in *************************

91708 error: data not found.

"Why is this happening? Why can't we access her memories?" Said Kite.

"It's because she doesn't want to remember herself. She keeps clouding the truth with that scene of Gon. He definitely contributed to her being in this state, we can't load the data if if she is going to keep denying the truth...there is the option of forcing code into the cerebral lobe's chip." Said a mysterious figure.

Kite looked up at the cat girl in the floating gracefully within a pod infused with a liquid substance.

"In order to save my sister...I'll do whatever it takes." Kite replied.

The mysterious figure gave two utensils Pitou used to use to prod human brains. "In order to figure out what she's hiding from us and even herself. We'll need to start from where everything went wrong. Are you prepared to hurt your own sister, the former queen for that your majesty?"

Pitou within the pod, opened her eyes and looked down at Kite as if also awaiting his answer. Kite' was determined; looking at Pitou with a face filled with depression yet holding a hint of determination Kite gave the order "Yes...there's no other way around it...we need to find out what happened to Gon and understand what made him become like this. So let's start from the beginning Hippotsu, it's time to save Neferpitou."

End of chapter?


	12. Chapter 12

Time to continue~ ^_^

 **Chapter 12**

Nen users have an abundant amount of opportunities to pursue the dreams that ordinary people wish they could obtain. Some seek power while others seek fortune and yet there are many who just want recognition and a status among the world's top celebrities. Nen users have that ability, the ability to make their dreams come true. With this in mind it's best to remember that nen isn't a power whom ordinary people should be afraid of...because in actuality, the truly terrifying thing are the dreamers themselves.

-In the Palace of the Chimera Ants-

Inuka was still waiting for Neferpitou to return. Though she was obediently waiting patiently for her queen she still continued to practice developing her hatsu. She discovered that every time she forced nen out from her paws it would slowly change in quality and increase in density. "What's going on? It feels thicker than usual. Almost like how blood feels compared to water." Inuka was able to freely maneuver the nen around her the palms of her paws. She began to notice the aura around her hands became stickier almost like an adhesive, yet she was able to detach it from her own body. "Th-this is amazing! H-how exactly did I do this?" she asked herself.

Inuka played with the material that originated from her aura. It was like putty, sticky not as messy as you'd think. As she continued to experiment with it, she decided to try and replicate the material that came out of her hands, however she couldn't get it to come out the exact same way as before. Instead whenever she'd try to make it the same way it would come out in the form of mist. A dense fog with no solid form at all. "UUUUUUUUUUUUGH! It's no use, I can't do it anymore. Huh? WHOA! It's really foggy in here all of a sudden! Was this all...from me?" Inuka reached out towards the misty in front of her, however her arm was engulfed completely and no longer visible to the naked eye. "Wow... I... can't believe this...is...hap...pen...ing." She collapsed due to her overexerting her nen.

Pitou thought of numerous ways to rectify her current situation. She lacks her own nen abilities, whenever she hallucinates she attacks people, but most bizarre of all, she's slowly changing...almost as if she were becoming _a different person entirely._

"It's time for action..." Pitou said to herself. "I can't wait around anymore, I have to-" before she could finish, someone called out to her.

"YOUR MAJESTY!" Jagren shouted from the other end of the hallway and quickly approached Pitou with his amazing speed.

Pitou looked at Jagren with an annoyed look on her face. "What is it? I'm busy..."

Jagren looked at Pitou with intense determination in his eyes, as if he was about make some kind of declaration.

-Meanwhile in Zaban city-

Two teenage girls were sitting close on a bench far away from the market. "Hey sis, check this out, I got over 200 likes on this post!" The girl on the left side of the bench exclaimed.

The girl on the right side of the bench looked over while sipping a soda. "Wow that's amazi-" before she could finish her sentence she looked at the contents of the post and noticed it was a meme. She then looked up at her sister and said "Seriously?"

The sister responded "Whaaaat? It's funny! Especially since it's a muuuuch better flavor than the Spirit you're drinking."

"Who told you that lie? And who'd want a Spirit that's cranberry flavored anyway? Also what the hell kind of idiot would like a meme like th"

Before she could finish her sentence a hooded figure approached the girls from behind. The figure blocked the sun that was beaming down on them. The creepy shadow that suddenly appeared, scared the girls. They both looked back at the hooded figure.

"H-hey! WHAT THE HELL! Don't sneak up on us like that you creep." One of the girls said.

"Wait...what's with that creepy mask? Are you a cosplayer? It kinda looks like a beak right sis?"

"Y-yeah...hey nerd! The cosplay convention was weeks ago y'know! Can you please just go away already?"

"Hey I know, why don't we record him in case he tried anything funny?"

"Good idea, you hear that creep? We'll report you to the authorities if you don't piss off already!"

The cloaked figure smirked to the best of his ability and said "Would you two girls like to make some serious cash?"

The two girls froze for a second. They hesitated before they decided to respond.

Back in East Gorteau

"Colt, I don't want to go through the checkpoint, do me a favor and fly me over the border." Kite commanded.

Colt looked at Kite while constantly second guessing his actions in his mind. Colt approached Kite and put his arms around her petite body in order hold her from behind. Colt then started to ascend towards the sky with Kite in his arms. Several thoughts filled with anxiety were swirling around in his mind but there was one particular question he had trouble asking Kite during this entire trip. The reason he couldn't ask it was because he knew the answer. Even though he knew the answer already, hearing it come from Kite; the child he vowed to raise as his own would break his spirit.

Kite had finally arrived in the Republic of East Gorteau. He came here for one reason and one reason alone, it was just a matter of time before he once again crossed paths with Neferpitou.

End of Chapter


	13. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13_**

"Pitou-sama, where are you going?" Jagren asked with desperation in his voice.

Pitou knew why he was asking. She just murdered many of her fellow chimera ants albeit they were merely worker ants. However that didn't matter to Pitou, the very thought of killing in cold blood made her sick, no matter the ranking of said ant she despises her actions.

"I know- I'm sorry but I need to take care of something, please wait here for a while alright?!" Pitou responded with a sense of unease in her voice.

"Pitou sama! Are you leaving because of those worker ants attempting to assault you?"

"What?!" Pitou looked back at him confused.

"The workers were obviously looking to do you harm milady, that's why you killed them right? So you don't have to leave because of that!" Jagren followed with an urge to keep Pitou in the palace.

Pitou stared at Jagren trying to make sense of his morale stance "Th-that's not-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Jagren said "Besides it doesn't matter if we lose a few worker ants your majesty, after all they aren't as important as you my queen! Including me and the other royal guard, our live aren't as important as yo-" Pitou slapped Jagren.

Meanwhile

Kite and Colt made their way to the old base of the Chimera ants; the "anthill" where the previous queen had resided to give birth to Meruem.

"This place smells terrible. Did you all really live here while working for the queen?" Complained Kite.

"Yes. We brought foo- humans to her every chance we could. Of course...that was before we realized what we was doing was wrong." said Colt.

"You say that but from what I gathered previously, a lot of you regained some of your human memories and still persisted in gathering meals for the queen. Am I wrong?" Kite said as fiercely as he could.

Colt didn't respond.

"Did none of you question the morality of your actions at the time?" Kite asked without holding back. Colt looked away from Kite as if ashamed of his actions. "Well it doesn't matter. It's in the past. All we can do now is move forward." As Kite said that he turned away from Colt with a calm demeanor. With her eyes closed and hands in her pockets, she begins to walk through the murky cave.

Colt stared at the ground for a minute reminiscing about the Queen. "Hey, aren't you coming?" Said Kite.

"R-right." Colt followed Kite through

The two of them talked about various different topics for the next few minutes. It seems that Kite was wanted to ask something specific but was awaiting

the right to to ask it.

However Colt was surprised by Kite being able to navigate the area towards a room that was reserved for the previous queen. Colt said to Kite "Maybe it's better if we turn back, we don't know what dangers we might find in here."

Kite responded with "You'll have to come up with better reasoning than that in order to get me to leave. There's something I need to figure out in the queens nest."

Colt knew where Kite was headed but he had no idea why he was specifically looking for the queens nest.

After a bit of wandering and investigating on Kite's end, he stumbled across the queens nest.

"Interesting." Kite said plainly.

Colt tried to urge Kite to leave as much as he could. "Rei-Kite. We should really turn back. This place is..."

Kite turned around to Colt who was walking behind her "What about this place? Do you know something that I should know?"

Colt looked away from Kite. Feeling bad about the secrets he kept from her. After clenching his teeth and making a fist he looked Kite straight in the eye. Up ahead is the queens nest. She gave laid eggs of within that room." Colt admitted.

"Is that so. That confirms my suspicions then." Kite placed her finger under her chin as if pondering something. "I guess now is a good time to ask you the question you did want to hear".

Colt gasped and looked toward Kite with concern.

In Zaban

A man dressed in a black robe was having a conversation with two high school girls in an alley somewhere in Zaban. They seemed to trust him without much resistance. Perhaps it was due to the promise of compensation.

"So...you want us to give this letter to someone in our school?"

"Yes, however you must wait until the time I gave you. In two weeks this letter must be given to that student. Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course master! Anything for you!"

"Shut up sis! Don't try to get all buddy buddy with master like that! After all he belongs with me and only me!"

"Master wouldn't settle for a small chest like yours, y'know."

The man in the black outfit took his hood off to reveal that he is indeed a Chimera ant with Avian genes. A golden beak and blue feathery hair were revealed. "It's important that you mail that letter to that student exactly in two weeks!" said the bird man.

The high school girls were more than willing to obediently carry out this assignment. Once the chimera ant flew away, the two girls seemed to forget about the encounter altogether. "Hey sis, how did we get here?"

"I don't know. This is so, like weird! Weren't were sitting on a bench and waiting for the bus?"

"Crap! You're right! Come on, we're gonna be late!"

This particular Chimera ant who bears the genes of a specific bird(notably a Hawk) was plotting something. It may have not been obvious now, but this one chimera ant would be the cause of an upcoming disaster.

Back at the palace

Pitou slapped Jagren while gritting her teeth. She held back her natural strength as much as she could in order not to kill him.

Jagren looked at the ground due to the knock back and then looked up back at his queen in shock. Pitou then placed her hands on Jagren's shoulders as an older sister would for a younger sibling in order to provide comfort. "Jagren...that way of thinking...is wrong. All of your lives are important to me! I don't care about"

"Pitou-sama... did I do something wrong?"

Pitou looked at Jagren and said "For now...just get back to your training...I'll take care of this mess."

Jagren stared at his queen and then nodded. "Before I go...are you still going to leave milady?"

Pitou made a gesture and smiled at Jagren in order to put his mind at ease.

Jagren smiled back and did as he was told and swiftly ran back to his assignment.

Pitou stared at the floor while standing still like a statue. Several thoughts plagued her mind. In the past, she never would have said something like that. The only person who was important to her was Meruem. But now, she dreads the thoughts of losing anyone under her wing. Is it just natural for a queen to worry about her subjects? Or was it something else that was causing her to feel this way?

Pitou thought to herself _"It's important that I stay here. Here in this broken palace. This place where humans and Chimera ants struggled for superiority. Who was in the right during that battle? I may never know the answer and of course, I'm only a few months old and yet I have the knowledge a human adult. In the past...was I human as well?"_ Pitou questioned herself. _"Wait, of course not!"_ Pitou slapped both of her cheeks in order to help herself focus _"What's happening to me?"_ Pitou looked outside of the damaged wall of the lowest floor of the palace and said _"_ _All I can do now is move on and try to better myself, so I don't make the same mistake the King made."_

End of Chapter


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

The atmosphere was dark, but not just from the lack of lighting in this dank "anthill" but due to the atmosphere surrounding Kite and Colt.

Kite broke silence by giving Colt a command "Now Colt, I appreciate everything you've done for me. But I need you to tell me everything about my birth."

Colt could only stare since he was baffled by Kite's command. There was no way he was going to admit what he knew exactly, but he did know who Kite really was. She was in fact the twin sister of Meruem and part of the royal bloodline of the chimera ants.

How could he say anything that would compromise the parent and child relationship they had? Of course Colt himself was still only a child who's genes were mixed with several several adult birds.

Phagogenesis caused them to transform into what any normal human would consider a "monster" but for them this was the natural step after their supposed death. Not everyone shares that viewpoint of course. Knowing that Colt decided to raise Kite as his human mother once did for him.

"Colt. I'm sorry if I'm coming on a but too strong. I just...need to know the truth. There's something about this body that compels me to seek the truth." Kite lamented. The reason I brought you all the way here, was so you couldn't lie to me when the evidence is right in front of you."

Colt's nerves started grow higher and higher, knowing that Kite's interrogation was a side effect of the proud nature that comes with royalty. "I took you in months ago. "In order to protect you from all of this..." Colt looked around the dark room as he said that and continued "I had to make sure you weren't exposed to the atrocities we witnessed right before your birth."

Kite prodded for more information. "Tell me everything about the connection I have with Meruem." Commanded Kite.

Colt was hesitant but he realized he couldn't lie to Kite who's always two steps ahead of any situation. "It was sometime after the late King Meruem was born. He selfishly rushed his own birth and completely destroyed the queens womb beyond recovery."

Kite stares at Colt blankly as he is explaining everything. Colt continues "The squadron leaders; including myself were astonished and terrified of the king. He didn't care about the damage he did to the queen at all. It was...beyond hideous to see him acting so nonchalant while he mercilessly took the life of a friend of mine. Peggy was killed immediately, just for trying to follow his a request."

"What request was that?" Kite asked

"He asked someone to clean his tail which had...fluid from the Queen's womb still on it. But he asked me do it specifically, however I froze in fear of the monster before me. Peggy momentarily volunteered to clean it for him but...he...he-" Colt was having difficulty reflecting on the awful event that took place prior to Kite's re-birth so Kite interrupted him.

"It's fine. I understand. The King was a horrible person. Tell me about my relation to him." Kite commanded.

"Of course." Colt looked down in utter disgust at the traumatizing memory but then regained his focus and told Kite the rest of what he remembered. "After a while we made a truce with the humans to help us save the queens life. But her organs were damaged beyond repair...and she passed on still loving and caring about her son, the King whom she named Meruem. We didn't realize that Meruem's selfish actions caused another life to be born prematurely."

Kite raised her eyes in interest when hearing this "you mean?"

Colt continues "Yes. You are Meruem's twin sister. You were both in the same egg, however it seems the queen was unaware of your existence. I was overwhelmed with intense emotions and because of that...I decided to take under my care. Away from all of this. I guess in retrospect, I was more terrified of the King then anything really."

Kite asked "Is Meruem still alive?"

Colt answered her "The last thing I heard was that the king and the royal guard succumbed to a lethal poison and were defeated. AH! Wait! That means!"

Kite smirked at Colt. It seems they both realized what this situation meant.

"It looks like the throne is empty. My suspicions were correct after all."

Colt looked at Kite with concern "Wait! Are you planning what I think you are?"

Kite looked away and said "to think I was directly connected to a selfish bring like that. But it doesn't bother me too much. My memories of being a Hunter are filled with selfish acts. So I guess I'm used to it." Kite placed her index finger under her chin as if she was pondering what she should do next.

"This body of mine has aged rapidly. It's now a pre-teen even though I've been alive for only a few months. I wonder if there is a point where the rapid aging ceases due to the human dna's influence by means of phagogensis. It would be interesting to find out more about the biology of the human and ant mixture. Wouldn't you agree?" Prompted Kite.

Colt didn't say anything.

"I want to see how my will can change the dynamic of both humans and chimera ants. I am royal blood after all so I have every right to be selfish. Isn't that right? Pitou took my life away, but I took it right back thanks to my nen ability. However...there is a chance that the entire chimera ant kingdom is in shambles. This queen will have to take responsibility in order to fix it." Said Kite.

Colt responded "N-NO! That isn't your responsibility Kite. I took you away from all this in order to have a normal life! Let's just go back and forget about all this." pleaded Colt. "Please...there is no reason to pursue this."

Kite turned his back on Colt and made the following statement. "I don't believe in destiny or fate. What I do believe in the will to move on from our past and strive for greater things. As a Hunter I can't ignore what I desire. I know the risks involved. I don't plan on attempting this while unprepared...that's I've come up with a plan"

With tears in his eyes Colt lamented "I don't care about that. Kite...you're just a child. I don't care who you were in your past life. I swore I'd protect you on behalf of the Queen. I SWORE WHILE SHE LAID ON HER DEATHBED! Please, you have to take into consideration how I feel!"

"If not for me...then do it for Reina." Said Kite. Colt gasped. "If you could help Reina with this plan, she will be eternally grateful. I know what she's feeling Colt, because...I am her."

Colt dropped to his knees with tears in his eyes. Flashbacks of the time he had taking care of her when she was small, way before her memories of Kite came to her was flowing through his mind, but suddenly another flashback of a little girl with red hair that he barely recognized popped into his head. "Re-reina?"

Kite approached Colt and began to wipe the tears from his eyes while smiling at him. He then hugged Colt and said "Reina and I are one. Her wish is to fulfill her purpose as queen. And I will carry it out with your help of course."

After thinking about it some more Colt realized that he wished for nothing other than for Reina to be happy. "Alright. I'll do it. I'll help Reina realize her wish."

Kite thanked Colt and hugged him tighter for agreeing to her request.

Kite helped Colt up and said while smirking "Parents should be tough you know. You shouldn't cry in front of your child."

Colt could only look away and chuckle "Yeah. In order to protect them, I have to put on a mask that shows I'm more reliable than I look."

The two faced forward. Kite reached out to Colt's hand.

The two held hands as they exited the anthill in order to start preparations on their new mission.

End of Chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

 _"_ It's crazy just how forgiving the worker ants are. I went on a rampage and killed a bunch of them while they were working hard on repairs. *sigh* Nya~ I still don't know how I ended up in this situation." Pitou lamented while pouting. "Aaaaaand...I'm getting anxious. There's no one to fight anymore, at least nobody as strong as me." With no enemies in sight she stared at the sunset alone at her old post where she used to spread her En in order to provide security for Meruem. "One day, I'll remember everything and I be able to defeat that kid once and for all and move on with my life." As she said that she tried activating her aura but of course nothing happened. "What did I expect? Oh well...what to do nyow?" she asked herself.

A week has past since Pitou had her last hallucination of Gon. Her reaction to it ended up costing the lives of several worker ants who were working on repairing the heavily damaged palace. Many of them questioned the worth of following someone as dangerous as the current queen, others kept quiet and act as if nothing happened. There was plenty of tension in the air, but the promise of rebuilding the ant kingdom and establishing themselves as a nation was worth it. Even if they have deformities or corrupted figures, each and every one of them came from a human being. That was a trait they all had shared. Pitou was the one who spontaneously proposed that they make peace with human society. The royal guard and worker ants all noticed a change in their queen whom most would remember her heinous actions months ago.

Jagren and Inuka have succeeded in developing a 'Hatsu' technique by means of nen training, just as the queen commanded. Though still rough around the edges with plenty of room for improvement, they showed amazing signs of potential. Pitou noticed how quickly they progressed and decided to reward them for their efforts. She invited all of the royal guard to her quarters for...an event.

"P-party?!" exclaimed Hippotsu. Pitou-sama if I may, why would such a thing be necessary?

Pitou looked at Hippotsu and rolled her eyes "because I'm bored! Is that good enough for you?" she said bluntly.

Hippotsu stared at his queen baffled but immediately bowed and acknowledged her statement.

Jagren was as excitable as ever. Being personally invited into the queens room was an honor in itself but it seems that there were other things on his mind " _The queens room again? I wonder if she has any naughty outfits...hehehe!"_ he thought to himself while drooling.

Pitou allowed the royal guard members to follow her into her room and the four of them sat down around a square table. Pitou encouraged the group to talk and have snacks that were traditional for the human palate . Inuka prepared several different treats including cookies, crackers, donuts and other pastries. "I hope this is to your liking Pitou-sama!" Said Inuka.

"It all looks delicious, thanks for preparing it Inuka." Said Pitou.

"MY PLEASURE YOUR MAJESTY!" Inuka jumped up and down in an excited manner while her tail wagged in response to being praised.

There were several reasons why Neferpitou was holding this party.

1) To see how the Royal Guard would respond to her being overly casual with them

2) To see if other Chimera ants could obtain nutrition from other food groups rather than meat

3) To discuss her plans on providing a bright future for all of their kind and unifying Chimera ants with the rest of the world

Hippotsu had some lingering thoughts about this situation. Most of his thoughts were of how inappropriate it was to sit so casually in front of royalty like the way he's doing now. But he's more bothered by the fact that Neferpitou doesn't seem to care either way. _"I may be a lowley doctor, but I did promise everyone here that we'd continue Meruem's legacy by means of our new Queen. To think she'd completely disregard the feelings of all chimera ants is absurd. B-but she is royalty and we have to listen to her commands"_ Hippotsu didn't know what to make of his queen.

They all sat down around the small table, waiting to hear Pitou's commands.

Pitou's arms were crossed as she was in deep thought about how to even start a conversation so casually like this. Pitou took a quick look at Jagren, then she looked at Hippotsu and finally she glanced at Inuka before looking down and saying "Meow we all have a chance to relax! Let's enjoy this brief time together you three. Okay?"

Meanwhile

There was a certain academy nearby Whale island that had students from nations all around the world that come in attendance. This school enrolls students from all kinds of background. From pre-schoolers to high schoolers, enrollment is available for everyone equally. Currently there are two students here who are under the influence of a certain nen ability. "Huh? Where did I get this...let...ter" immediately her eyes began to fade. The girl started walking and found her destination: an empty classroom that was meant for middle school students. The letter was placed under the desk of the student it was addressed to.

"So far, things are going according to plan. We now have out 'contingency' in set." Said the bird chimera ant

"I sssssseeeeee, hehehe, yes. That is a very ssssmart plan!" Said the cobra chimera ant

"Revenge will be sweet when our plan is finally complete!" said the bird chimera ant

End of Chapter

Thanks for reading. See you guys soon~


	16. Chapter 16

_**I was pressed for time Yesterday. So this chapter will be in two parts**_ **:) Sorry about that.**

 _ **Chapter 16 A**_

Pitou's questions continued to confuse Hippotsu, however he did his best to hold his tongue. Neferpitou's actions may seem contradictory to the late kings but she still wants to honor his legacy and continue his plans...right? That's what he thought but the more he heard her go on and on about "unifying the Chimera ant nation with the world of humans" he began to sweat.

"We're all going to have to adapt to their way of life in order to be accepted by them. Right now, we're most likely still considered a threat to the human populace...they look at us like monsters" as she said that she flashbacks to when she was performing surgery on Komugi with as Gon's insidious glare is glued to her. She remembered the hatred in his eyes. She sensed the contempt emanating from the boy. "and they hate us with every fiber of their being. I don't want a life where we have to constantly be trying to fight with the humans...especially since they outnumber us quite a lot." She didn't want to see that again. She didn't want to be in situation where she would have to feel that fear again. The fear of losing those important to her. "I don't want to go through that again." She said while looking down.

"Pitou-sama...what's wrong?" Said Inuka.

"It's nothing, it's doesn't matter nyow." She said while smiling at Inuka. "Anyway, we have plenty to talk about while we eat, but before we do...I want you all to demonstrate your Nen abilities to me." She said

Inuka raised her dog ears in confusion.

As soon as he heard that Jagren jumped up from his seat on top of the table in an over the top fashion and posed rather flamboyantly. "Hehe, wait till' you see my awesome new nen ability your majesty! I'm sure you'll be so impressed your panties will fly off!" Jagren exclaimed

Hippotsu swiftly turned to Jagren and looked at him like he just did something horrible. "J-JAGREN! THAT IS NO WAY TO TALK TO-"

"Hm? What are panties?" Pitou asked.

The room went silent for a few seconds. Until Jagren screamed "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! What?! P-P-P-P-P-P-Pitou-sama doesn't know what panties are? Then does that mean...? AHHHHHHHHH!" Jagren screamed at the top of his voice and fell off from the table and knocked himself out while blood was running from his nose."

Inuka had her head turned the entire time trying with all her might to hold back her laugh while Pitou stayed in her seat and rolled her eyes. "So, I guess that means he's still getting used to his nen ability, okay Inuka you're up!" Pitou said.

Hippotsu tried to regain his composure and then stated "B-but my queen, what he said wasn't very... well you know, orthodox."

Pitou responded with "What do you mean by that?

"W-well your majesty, uhhhh, what he said wasn't appropriate while in your presence." Hippotsu stammered.

Pitou raised one of her eyebrows and tilted her head and said "I don't know what you're trying to say."

"N-nevermind. Please excuse my nonsense your majesty." Hippotsu conceded.

"All right then. Nyow Inuka, show me the results of your training!" Pitou commanded.

"Y-yes Pitou-sama! Here goes" Inuka stood up from her chair and held her arms out in front of her. A bluish-purple aura was emanating from the dog girl's hands.

To be continued


	17. Chapter 17

**_Chapter 16 B_**

"All right then. Nyow Inuka, show me the results of your training!" Pitou commanded.

"Y-yes Pitou-sama! Here goes" Inuka stood up from her chair and held her arms out in front of her. A bluish-purple aura was emanating from the dog girl's hands. Seeing nen ability It was a mesmerizing sight for Hippotsu causing him to gasp at the otherworldly appearance of the aura spewing from Inuka's finger tips. Even though Hippotsu was amazed at this sight, Neferpitou was used to it and isn't so easily impressed.

"That's your hatsu Inuka?" asked Pitou.

"Yes Pitou-sama. I can emit my nen through my paws!" Inuka said excitedly.

Neferpitou looked a bit puzzled, perhaps she was expecting something extravagant. Or maybe her standards were too high since she herself had one of the strongest nen abilities on the planet. Leaving her judgement aside, she decided to try and be patient with Inuka. "I see. Not bad Inuka. It's a step in the right direction. Pretty soon you'll be able to make, 'useful abilities'. Nyow then, Hippotsu-san, are you re-" Inuka cut her off.

"Um...Pitou-sama, please keep looking. I'm not finished yet." Pleaded Inuka.

Neferpitou turned her head back to Inuka and noticed the quality of her nen started to change. It was become misty and making the air kind of thick however not difficult to breathe in nor was it toxic in any way. After a few seconds the entire room was engulfed in a bluish-purple cloud. Inuka then concentrated her aura into different sections of the mist in order to change it's quality even further. A thick and bouncy cloud like substance was formed from the mist. Multiple small purple clouds were now floating around the room being controlled by Inuka.

"Th-that is amazing! Inuka! This is your nen? It's so-" Hippotsu cut himself off since he was mesmerized by Inuka's fantastic display. Hippotsu of course knew of how nen worked and he has performed check ups on nen-nodes before, however actually seeing the power in front of him still was very surprising.

Each cloud was individually controlled by Inuka. A stunning display for those who aren't to familiar with nen abilities and those who barely ever bare witness to it's majestic nature.

"You see Pitou-sama! I made little baby clouds! Hehe, aren't they adorable?" Inuka was excited to finally be able display her hatsu. She's worked hard on it for two weeks straight after all. This was a chance for her to finally prove that she can be useful to her queen and she has the means of doing that wit her nen ability.

The clouds dissipated and the room was cleared of the smog. "How was that Pitou-sama did I do good?" Being part dog one could assume that Inuka was very sensitive to criticism, scolding or negative feedback in general.

Domestic canines usually respond best to cues that that an owner endows within while training them. Some owners however abuse their pets with loud and angry words that just frighten them. There was once such a dog underwent such hardships through an abusive master, a small beagle that was popular in dog shows. She'd often get high scores and be praised by the judges. However on the off chance she make one mistake, the owner would scold the poor dog and yell at it for it's poor performance and starve her for an entire twenty four hours for every mistake that's made. After years of abuse the poor dog ran away from it's owner abandoning that life of abuse for good.

"Did I do good Pitou-sama... or perhaps I failed...and you're upset with me?" Inuka asked.

Pitou looked at Inuka while smiling and said "it wasn't anything special right nyow, but with a bit more polish it could turn out to be very useful nen ability. You have potential, great work Inuka."

That wasn't the reaction she was expecting from her queen. It wasn't positive nor was it negative but it was completely neutral. Inuka didn't know how to respond. She bowed in front of her queen and thanked her out of respect. Then she attempted to walk out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Pitou asked.

"I-I just need a minute to myself. Sorry your majesty." Inuka said in a soft voice, almost as if she was devastated to hear those words. Afterward, she walked out of the queens chamber leaving Neferpitou, Hippotsu and Jagren.

Hippotsu tried to rectify the situation by saying "Your majesty, please pay her no mind! She's always been like that ever since we first met. She'd often work with Pig to expand her culinary horizons. Of course back then her squadron leader 'Zazan'-sama would often scold her for wasting her time cooking anything but meals for the queen. Every time someone said anything bad to her, she's start to cry or run away to her room. It's the same thing with her every single time."

Pitou noticed a specific name that dropped from Hippotsu's mouth just now "What did you just say Hippotsu?" she asked.

"Oh uh well, Inuka's just very sensitive and she's always been like th-" he was cut off

"No the other thing. Who was her squadron leader?" Pitou asked

"Um It was Zazan-sama. May I ask why that name stuck out to you my queen?" Said Hippotsu

Pitou grabbed her chin with her thumb and index finger and said " _Perhaps...I should inqure a bit more about what happened to me while I was in my coma...or rather while I was considered dead_." She thought to herself. "Hippotsu, let's put this little party of ours on hold for now. I need to check something! I'll see you soon!" Pitou ran out the door immediately headed to who knows where?

"Uwa! Your majesty wait!" Hippotsu sighed. "Damn it. So I guess I'm the one who'll have to clean all of this up huh? Well, it is for the queen. Maybe I should carry Jagren back to his quarters as well."

Hippotsu started to clean up the leftover snacks off of the table in order to keep the tidiness of the Pitou's room. However as he was cleaning, there was another presence besides him and Jagren in the room. "Huh? Oh did you wake up already Jag-! Who are you? W-wait...PLEASE DON'T!"

End of chapter


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 17**_

"I can't believe she's teaching you of all people to be a royal guard member. You should be proud of your promotion Hippotsu. Even though you don't deserve it. You weren't born royal, remember? Neferpitou would have never even acknowledged your presence if Meruem were still alive. Besides her medical skills far exceed yours so you're basically useless."

Hippotsu and his captor were in the underground floor that was previously used by secretary Bizeff in order to engage in illegal activities. The person who captured him was a female chameleon chimera ant. She had long frilly red hair and a face that resembled Meleoron's a bit. "If I'm not mistaken Neferpitou has no knowledge of this place. So I guess I don't have to worry about her finding us here. It would be bad if she did of course, her physical strength is still a danger to us who weren't born in the royal family you know." As she kept talking to Hippotsu she sneered at him in contempt.

"What's the meaning of this Chamelia? Didn't you leave the nest with Bihorn? And why did you kidnap me?" Asked Hippotsu.

"Ugh! Geez, you ask like, alot of questions." Her response signified her nonchalant or uncaring attitude.

"Well? You can at least give me some answers! Well, it doesn't matter. My queen will find out that I'm missing and she'll take care of you."

"Helloooo~ did you not hear what I just said? She doesn't know about this place! Only a select few even found out about it during the raid, and even if she did, would she really care enough to save you? Some fatass doctor who's not even that good at his job, ESPECIALLY since he turned into an ant?" Her taunts were followed by a chuckle.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me, the fact that you have snuck in here and are threatening the safety of our queen is the problem, you will be SEVERELY PUNISHED for this!" declared Hippotsu.

"Yeesh, as stuck up as always. Regardless, I suggest you get comfortable. We're going to be waiting for QUITE a while~." She promised.

Hippotsu stared at the ground, frustrated because he was bound by a thick pair of handcuffs that were probably used by the secretary at one point and taped to a chair. All he needed was some answers but Chamelia refused to give him any.

 _Elsewhere_

"It's not a problem, you can just hijack a plane heading over to NGL. Simple, am I right?" Said the bird chimera ant

"That'sssss eassssy for you to sssay! You have wingsss! Doing all of that work will be annoying. I wish I had wingsss." Said the cobra chimera ant

"I do admit, they are rather convenient. When I'm in the air, i'm reminded of the days I'm at my old man's workshop. I remember him taking me for a ride on his light plane. Hell, I do remember always having dreams where I could actually fly. Becoming a chimera ant is probably one of the best things to ever happen to me." Said the bird chimera ant

"You often reminissssce about your childhood. I find it irritating. Essspecially sssince I can't remember my past." The cobra complained

"You only remember your life as a chimera ant?" Asked the bird

"Yesss. I believe I told you thisss before. I only remember ever being in ssservice to the queen." The cobra chimera ant was one of the few soldier ants who have't had their memories return when they were human. "Thisss isss all I know. It alwaysss bothers me when you talk about your passst, when I can't even remember mine."

The bird chimera ant pondered for a minute placing his avian-like index finger under his chin. There was something bothering him about the way his cobra friend complained. "Could you stop doing that?" He asked in a stern tone.

"Sssstop doing what?" The reptile sneered knowing exactly what was bugging him.

They stared at each other for several seconds.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Neferpitou was pacing back and forth in one of the renovated halls. She had an idea of who to ask but not " _Why didn't I think of this before? I could probe the soldier ants for the whereabouts of the missing squadron leaders. If I remember correctly, one of them was a nen exorcist. This 'Zazan' person should be able to pinpoint their location and help me get my nen back! If a nen exorcist can remove nen they should be able to return it as well...right?"_

She had a plan, however she needed to stay within the palace and continue building the ant kingdom. With her newfound responsibility Pitou noticed more and more just how difficult so called simple tasks can be thanks to her new position. "Wait a second! Nyow I got it! I'll have someone else get them for me! I could probably send a squad of soldier ants along with Jagren to find them.

Neferpitou knew that a nen exorcist existed within the ranks of the soldier ants. _"If I remember correctly. Zazan was the one who would often taunt the other squadron leaders. Wasn't another in her squad? Ugh damn it! Why did I run out like that? I should of stayed in the room so I could ask Jagren and Hippotsu, oh that's right. Inuka must be crying in her room right nyow. Seriously, what is up with her and being so sensitive? Whatever, I'll deal with it later."_

Pitou returned to her room to see Jagren still asleep and Hippotsu gone. "Wh-What the hell? THIS PLACE IS A MESS! and Hippotsu's already gone? I was out for like five minutes!" Pitou sighed " _I should wake Jagren up and tell him to clean all of this. He is quick on his feet after all so it should be no problem for him."_ She thought "Hey Jagren. Bedtime's over, I need you to clean my quarters nyow." Pitou commanded. Jagren didn't respond.

Pitou tried several different things to wake him up but yielded no results. She tried clapping really loud then she even tried screaming in his cat-like ears, she even tried picking him up and throwing him across the room albeit gently since a super powered throw from Pitou would indeed kill him. She tried to wake him up several times but nothing was working. Once she realized this that her efforts were in vain she heard Jagren utter something in his sleep " _Pantsu..."_ the ensuing nosebleed occured shortly after he said that.

Pitou tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what he just said. "Pant...sooo? Oh! Is that another word for panties?" Suddenly as soon as she asked herself that Jagren shot up!

"AH! P-p-panties?! Where?!" He woke up frantically hoping to quench his perverse thirst. "Oh Pitou-sama. What happened? Where am I? OMIGOSH! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean fall asleep in your room again! PLEASE FORGIVE YOUR MAJESTY!" He started to freak out.

Pitou was speechless.

"Um...Pitou-sama? What's going on here? Is the party over? Oh, I didn't get a chance to show you my nen ability." He said.

Jagren's hyper active nature exhausting for her to deal with, but being the queen, she decided to put up with it.

"Hey Jagren is it alright if I ask you something about your squadron leader?" Pitou asked.

"Um... s-sure your majesty. What do you want to know about Leol?" He said with a slight blush.

While Pitou and Jagren were conversing the two chimera ants who were plotting against Neferpitou continue to plant the seeds to enact their revenge.

"I got a call from Chamelia. She claims to have been successful in hiding the hippo guy."

"I sssstill don't undersssstand why you decccided to make a preemptive strike this early on. We ssstill haven't obtained our trump card yet!"

"Relax. It's better to do things this way. I decided that it would best to make her despair in the most intense way possible. One by one, she'll lose everything. I thought you would understand. Every plan of hers needs to fail, and any hope of her nen returning must be snuffed out." The bird chimera ant's pupils shrunk intensely. "How dare she come back to life? How could I forgive them after they abandoned the queen?"

"I underssstand alright. Underssstand that you are very unreasssonable...although, I do have my fair share of troublesss asss well thanksss to her." lamented the Cobra.

"I will never forgive her." He clenched his fist. "Still, how could a heartless bitch like Neferpitou cheat death? Perhaps -he- will give us the answers we seek." The birdman declared.

"Perhapsss he will" The Cobra agreed

"I Thought I told you to stop doing that."

"Ssstop doing what?"

They stared at each other for several seconds.

End of chapter

 _Thanks for reading. The next chapter will be available Wednesday February 20th, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Have a good weekend!_


	19. Chapter 19

**_Chapter 18_**

Mother nature is a cruel and unjust being. The "survival of the fittest" mentality the single most toxic line of thinking for those who dare call themselves human.

The strong pray on the weak.

The weak cower in fear, trying so desperately to survive.

How can anyone accept 'Mother Nature' as anything but an unjust and malicious force?

 **(A report on the state of the Chimera ant ecosystem)**

* * *

 _"Based on the research we've conducted it would seem that the Chimera ants have finally settled in the NGL. The kingdom is at least eighty five percent complete in regards to it's full development. This was all possible due to the efforts of the Chimera ant queen, Neferpitou. I will elaborate._

 _Ever since her revival, Neferpitou began to express changes that reflected her moral code. Soldier ants always thought of her as sadistic and ruthless scientist. The experiments her and Pouf would conduct on humans would often be monitored by assistant soldier ants. Those ants would then spread word about each and every time they had to witness the brutal and merciless surgeries conducted by Royal guard member 'Neferpitou'. Her duty was simple: protect and serve the king. She performed her duty admirably. However there would be times where she'd go off on her own to perform said experiments on humans. Whether it be man, woman or child, she was impartial to choosing the test subjects. She'd justify it to those who feared her, often saying "it's necessary for the king's rule" or "this is what the king wants"._

 _The soldier ants albeit loyal to the royal family, still had the closest connection to their past selves. The parts of them that were human remained within their psyche and it would often be expressed by means of them retaining their human memories. However some soldier believe that the members of the royal guard have never recalled their human memories. All that was known was that specific genes could influence their final appearance._

 _Shaipouf - A human, butterfly hybrid with a nen ability that allows him to divide his cells into smaller beings. I theorize that his nen ability was strongly tied to the process of phagogenesis that was constructing several of the same butterfly species at once during his development. Each individual cell must have been infused with aura giving Shaipouf the ability to divide himself, alter his face and voice, etc._

 _Menthuthuyoupi - A human, magical beast hybrid. Magical beasts are an oddity that are in need of further study. They range from intelligent creatures without sentience to unintelligent creatures with sentience, much like human beings. Perhaps Youpi was the ladder influence by both parts of his genetic code. Based on what I've been told, magical beasts can store an extremely large portion of aura within them. Youpi would be proof of that._

 _Meruem - The chimera ant king and the so called "perfect" existence. It is unknown what specific creatures constructed the "king of the ants" true form, however it is important to note that he was created to be one of the most powerful entity on the planet. It's safe to assume multiple nen users were consumed to construct a cluster of concentrated aura while developing the king himself. If that's the case, it leaves us with more questions. Transmuters can change the quality of their aura and give birth to new form. It's possible that the aura within the king's egg was transmuted to form a substance. One that can power the infant king by an unfathomable amount. We can't be certain of just how powerful Meruem was. All we did know at the time was that he threatened the existence of the human race._

 _Neferpitou - The firstborn of the royal family and the royal guard. She is a human, feline, hybrid. She is arguably the most 'unstable' out of all of the royal guard, her sadistic nature wasn't common among chimera ants. Shaipouf and Youpi both exhibited relatively normal behavior especially around the king. The one who would always suggest performing experiments on humans would be Pitou, the one who always thought outside the box would be Pitou, the one who was always the topic of discussion was Neferpitou. To a lot of the soldier ants, Neferpitou was more terrifying than the king himself._

 _Why was she so different from the rest of the ants? Innocent curiosity? Boredom? Regardless of what caused her personality to be unstable, the important question to ask is: what could be done to **purge** that maliciousness? Can evil be **altered** into goodwill? Is it possible for the irredeemable to actually be **redeemed?** I need to know. It's imperative that I find out what she truly is under that veil of darkness. I will understand her. Then maybe once this is all over I can...no... I don't want to get off track. I'll have to erase this portion of the report later, but for now I want you to understand that things are not as they seem. There is one underlying truth that has influenced all of this. The details are too inappropriate for this report but there will be a time where it'll all make sense. Forgive the speculative nature of this paragraph. I'll be sure to delete it later once I send it the officials._

 _Her only wish now...is to create a nation of chimera ants. Pitou's purpose vanished with Meruem's passing. All that's left now is to change the way humans perceive Chimera ants as a species. Perhaps through her actions, she can save the race of Chimera ants. That is her new purpose. I will do anything I can to help my sister achieve her goal._

 _This concludes my report. Signed..._

Kite.

* * *

Back at the chimera ant palace

Pitou didn't get the information she was looking for from Jagren. Apparently Leol and Zazan didn't speak much even though they were both squadron leaders. Jagren informed her that Leol spent most of his time with his comrades, Hina and Flutter but never really focused on the other squadrons as often. Pitou recalled that Leol met with his death when he fought with Morel in one of the small cities of East Gorteau.

"I see." She placed her index finger under her chin as she said that. "That does make sense. To makes things worse, not every squadron leader came back in service to the king...well the ones that did wanted to receive nen abilities from Pouf anyway, so I guess you can't call that actual service. _Come to think of it, it's possible that this 'Zazan' is already dead. It wouldn't be to unreasonable to think that a majority of the squadron leaders have been killed after leaving the nest."_ she thought.

"Pitou-sama, was my answer to your satisfaction? C-could I get some type of reward?" Jagren spontaneously started drooling while jumping up and down, expecting some sort of "reward" for answering a simple question.

Pitou was usually unfazed by Jagren's odd behavior since it didn't really pique her curiosity all that much...however "Reward? For what?" she asked

"For answering your question milady! Leol used to give me rewards for doing chores and answering random trivia questions for him whenever he was bored! So your majesty could I please have a reward?" He begged her.

Pitou folded her arms and tilted her head left and right thinking of a way to meet his request. "Hmmmm, reward? For something so simple?" She said that as she was still confused about why Jagren was asking her for this. She then perked her head up and thought up of an idea. "Hey Jagren, I'll give you this thingy." Neferpitou walked up to the dresser that was meant for the original supreme leader; Diego. Diego's maids would often stock suggestive looking undergarments within his drawer's and closets. Pitou stumbled upon them for the first time when she first became queen. She didn't know what they were for but she saw them as inconsequential. To her those items are meaningless but for Jagren... "Why don't you take this thing?" Pitou took out a pair of panties that were...very thin to say the least. She then threw them at Jagren.

 **THE WORLD WARPED**

Time began to slow down for Jagren. The suspended panties in the air began to slowly fly towards little Jagren. His eyes were so fixated on them that his vision of the rest of the room warped into a pitch black nothingness. As if entranced by the lewd item, two beams of light that resembled spotlights focused on Jagren and the panties. The deep emotion he was feeling was intensified by the choir humming in the background. " _Is the queen giving me...HER PANTIES?!"_ He thought to himself. Tears began to stream down his face, his nose began to drain with a purple blood, his ears were twitching out of pure, unadulterated happiness.

He leaped upward at the lewd item while the liquid from his body drained with even more intensity. " _Neferpitou wore these! Her majesty wore these...these...beautiful pantsuuu~!"_ A loud echo of him shouting out those words could be heard...but only in his mind. In reality _Neferpitou_ never actually wore them but rather Diego himself. These weren't panties but instead it was a speedo that men would ware for suggestive parties.

"Come on, wake up Jagren. I wasn't finished talking to you yet." Pitou was gently slapping Jagren in order for him to wake up. The panties that he was gripping so hard gave him quite a shock and rendered him unconscious.

Some time had pass before he finally awoken.

"Sorry about that Pitou-sama." He was rubbing his cheek because Pitou's slaps often hurt even when she is holding back. Even with her nen gone, her super strength will always be able to compensate. That's the reason she's not so worried however she's still determined to find out what happened to her.

"It's fine. Hey you're fast right?" Pitou asked bluntly.

"HUH? N-no! Of course not!" Jagren responded defending himself.

"But I saw you run really fast before. Your speed clocked a few miles over Cheetu's record if I'm not mistaken. Right?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh? Oh, that's right! Y-y-yeah, of course I'm fast! Sorry your majesty I thought you meant something else." Jagren clarified.

 _"What is he talking about? I don't understand this kid at all."_ Pitou thought "Listen can you please go find Hippotsu? I need to ask him if he has any leads on the whereabouts? You're much faster than me so it'd be quicker if you bring him back here. Oh and after that you still need to clean my quarters. Pitou commanded.

"Huh? Y-yes! Anything for you my queen!" Jagren saluted her.

Jagren scurried around each of the main areas of the palace within five minutes. He checked every room where Hippotsu would most likely be in, the laboratory, the medical ward, and even some of the vacant maid rooms but he was nowhere to be found. Jagren hurried back to Neferpitou. "*pant* *pant* m- *pant* my queen. I couldn't find him." He said.

"What do you mean you couldn't find him? He should be in the palace somewhere, right?" she retorted.

"He should be here, but he's not. I checked everywhere! _Even in places I have no business being_ in *smirk*."

Pitou looked down at the floor and started to think. "Was Inuka in her room?" she asked.

"Yes! She's crying for some reason. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to her your majesty?"

Pitou really didn't want to worry about Inuka since she felt it was more important to search for clues. However Hippotsu's sudden disappearance started to concern her. "Why don't we figure this out together? I may need your help with something." She said firmly.

"T-T-Together?" He blushed as he asked that but then shook his head and asked "Wh-what would that be my queen?" He asked.

"Jagren, let's search other areas of the palace that we usually check. Okay? It'll be just the two of us for nyow. Follow me, alright?" She smiled at Jagren and turned around and began walking out of the room. _"I can't shake this feeling like something major is about to happen."_ She thought.

 _Jagren smiled and excitedly said "YES MY QUEEN!"_

Walking directly behind Neferpitou, he stared at her with all his might. " _My queen. I'll do my best to impress you!"_ He thought to himself. He followed her out of the palace gates and to an area that wasn't ever used by the royal guard.

To the soldier ants, Neferpitou was a terrifying member of the royal guard but to Jagren, she was the perfect woman. A woman truly befitting of the title of "queen".

End of chapter

* * *

Chapter nineteen this Wednesday. Thank you for reading and sorry for the delay~

FYI: If you're watching Hunter x Hunter in English on Toonami this week the episode us Neferpitou lovers truly hate is coming up. You already know which one I'm talking about.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 19**_

 _Sometime during Meruem's reign_

Neferpitou was escorting secretary Bizeff to his office. She was doing this to ensure that they know where Bizeff would be at all times. The secretary just survived a very dangerous situation; Meruem spared his life. He pleaded for his life, prostrating more than he ever had to in front of Diego while trying to reason with his new chimera ant superiors that his position is very important and it wouldn't benefit them if he were to be killed. Meruem agreed and allowed Bizeff to continue his work as it would be more convenient to have a proxy that actually knew Diego in order to rally unsuspecting citizens more easily.

The two of them were walking in one of the halls of the lower floor of the palace. Pitou was walking directly behind Bizeff in order to keep a close eye on his actions, the lengthy walk prompted her to ask "Where's your office? We've been walking in one direction for quite a while nyow." Pitou asked.

The secretary gulped out of sheer nervousness and started to perspirate. "Ah y-yes, Neferpitou-sama, my office is just down the hall. I usually do not have to walk all this way."

"I don't care. I just need to make sure you won't do anything out of line." Pitou said.

"I-I'm aware. I just ask that you allow me to live so I can perform my duties undisturbed." He said. "After all, we are the backbone of the Mitene Union. Without East Gorteau's resources, this entire country would collapse. That is why it is vital that I stay alive." Bizeff affirmed.

"You handle foreign affairs and stuff like that right?" Her tail was wagging as she asked him the question, displaying total confidence which scared the secretary even more. "It would be a hassle to take over each and every kingdom in this country, so you should save face and keep them well coordinated."

"Y-yes. Thank you very much for sparing my life." He wasn't really shocked at her disregard for human life. Diego the dictator would act in a similar way to his citizens. He witnessed corruption and total domination on a daily basis.

"Would it be alright to ask you a question?" As they were heading down the elevator, Bizeff nervously asked. "So Neferpitou-sama. It would seem that the other chimera ants refer to you as 'sir'. Why is that exactly? A-again with all due respect!" Bizeff asked.

Pitou looked at Bizeff with confusion "It's a sign a respect! Isn't that what you're called on a daily basis?" She retorted.

Bizeff gulped in nervousness again before responding "Ah! Y-yes! Th-that is true. So, does that make you a male chimera ant? _Dammit! Why did I just ask that? I'm going to be killed!"_

"Of course not. Isn't it obvious just by looking at me? Also, you've been staring at me for quite a while nyow. Stop it. You're creeping me out. I'm most likely female." She said with certainty.

 _"Most likely?"_ Bizeff thought to himself. Um wouldn't it be more appropriate for the solder ants to call you ma'am or madam?" Bizeff asked with a nervous smile.

"I don't care what they refer to me as, as long as they know their place. Like you, you know yours, don't you?" Pitou leaned forward until she met Bizeff's eyes. Since she was taller than him for an obvious reason it only became more intimidating to him. Bizeff started to sweat even more, fearing for his safety.

"If you do anything out of line, the king will have no mercy on you! Understand?"

Rightfully so, he understood.

From time to time Neferpitou would see Bizeff leaving his office and heading into the underground hangar. She had no business there and never cared to follow him down there especially since she was almost always in charge of the palace security. There would often be times where Bizeff fantasized about putting "her" into her rightful place. The "meat" he ordered would often be "consumed" in various disgusting ways. Though he was frustrated. Frustrated with being couped in his office all the time and only having five pieces to consume. He wanted more. He wanted "her". However thanks to a display of her power, he would never even get the chance.

 _The current time in the palace_

"It's here your majesty?" Asked Jagren.

"I'm positive. That old man told me about it." Pitou assured Jagren.

"What old man?" He asked.

"There was very important person the king left in charge of foreign affairs once we took over the palace. Apparently he was so important that it would be impossible to to assume control of all the citizens without him...or something like that." She smirked as she half remembered the king's reasoning on letting Bizeff live. "I never really understood why he was so important, but there was always something odd about his behavior. I once saw him heading into the underground hangar through here, he told me that it's the place where he sleeps after a hard day of work." Pitou remembered being bothered by his very presence.

"Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Well regardless, you couldn't find Hippotsu, so we should check here to see if he's in the hangar." Pitou stated.

"But your majesty, why would he be here? I was told that I wasn't allowed to patrol this area, actually a lot of us weren't allowed here to begin with. So why would he go here?" Jagren asked with utmost sincerity.

Pitou placed her index finger under her chin and and tilted her head "Hmmmmmm. I dunno." She said bluntly.

Jagren let out a sigh.

"Hey, let's find Hippotsu, alright?!" Pitou looked down at Jagren and smiled. "Let's find Hippotsu together all right?" She balled her fist and lifted it up in the air to display her determination.

Jagren nods. Pitou enters the passcode to open the "roll down gate". The two began their search for a missing member of the royal guard.

End of chapter

* * *

I apologize for the long wait. I had to rewrite this multiple times for various reasons. Regardless, I'm feeling better now and I'm going to continue writing this story. There will be one more chapter before the month ends. Thank you all for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 20**_

Neferpitou took her young royal guard with her to enter the tunnel where Bizeff once occupied before the palace raid. They walked for quite a while until Jagren asked her "Your majesty, what was this place used for?" Jagren asked in an innocent manner.

Pitou thought about it but couldn't figure out what exactly the facility was used for besides housing the secretary. She has an inquiring mind and under normal circumstances would have investigated the secretary's deeds further. However there was something that always bothered her about the secretary that prompted her to make an effort to avoid him at all costs. She wasn't allowed to kill him because the king ordered the royal guard to spare him so he can continue his work.

"I'm not really sure." Said Pitou "All I know is that something was off about that man, and it bothered me for some reason. Y'know I probably would have killed him if the hadn't ordered us to leave him be." Pitou gave off an annoyed smirk, displaying a how much that man's existence irked her.

The two of them continued talking about various topics while walking down the this hollowed hallway. However Pitou's mind was mostly on other things. She was questioning herself constantly. Why is she going out of her way to look for one of her own Royal guard? Pitou's confirmed that she was worried about losing something important. She wanted to equate the importance of the life of one of her royal guard members who weren't actually 'royal' to begin with, with her own. Her responses to Jagren were mostly half hearted as she was mostly focused on searching for Hippotsu. She had a bad feeling that someone

Jagren suddenly recalled the place he was in "I remember now! I was told to never patrol in this area. I don't know why though." Jagren claimed.

Pitou turned her head back at Jagren and asked "What do you mean? Didn't you say you weren't allowed here?"

"Yes your majesty, of course! But I didn't remember right away. I'm sorry." With his hand behind his head, smiling, he apologized.

After a while, They found themselves standing in front of another gigantic gate.

Pitou tried to enter the same sequence of numbers she used for the first gate, however her senses started to bother her before she could press the last number to complete the input.

"Hm? What's wrong your majesty?" Jagren asked, tilting his head.

Pitou scowled. She remembered overhearing one of the squadron leaders occupying the palace during Meruem's reign talking about a failsafe security method. " **SLEEPING GAS".** Those words stood out to her. If the input was incorrect a certain number of times than that there the threat would be neutralized with sleeping gas. Mechanisms to release it were all over this particular hallway. Pitou stepped back and decided that there is a way to get through without potentially being affected by something so inconvenient.

"Jagren. I don't think those humans would be stupid enough to use the same code twice." She said.

Jagren looked at her with disappointed eyes and said "Seriously? _I'm sure she's only kidding. Humans make mistakes like that all the time. They aren't smart at all._ " Jagren thought to himself.

"I'd be the fool for underestimating their intelligence." Pitou said that as she pointed at her head in a silly manner.

"Th-that's not true my queen! You're like, way smarter than humans! They just like to put up a front and-" before he could finish, Pitou interrupted him.

"Jagren. What was your life like before all of this?" Pitou asked him bluntly.

Jagren responded in confusion "Wh-what do you mean, your majesty?"

"I wanted to ask you for a while nyow. What was your human life like? I'm sure you remember who you were before all of this started." She leaned down at him with her hands on her knees, wagging her tail excitedly.

Jagren froze. He forgot about the fact that he came from the very same race that he kept insulting. A majority of Chimera ants often forget that they are a victim of "phagogenesis". "Um...I'm sorry my queen, I-..." He couldn't finish his response to her question.

"Listen...you shouldn't denounce where you came from. Cherish those memories Jagren, okay? Pitou smiled at him pointed poked his head. _"Some of us wish we could remember who we used to be..."_ Pitou lamented in her head. Another change she sensed in herself...she actually longed to remember her own days among humanity.

Jagren nodded.

"So, how about we open this gate, eh?" Pitou smirked.

"W-wait. So you know the password your majesty?" Jagren asked.

Pitou responded with a blunt "Nope."

Jagren waved his arms up and down in worry "Th-then how are we going to get through?!"

Pitou turned around and faced the gate, staring at it intensely. In a quick motion she lunged up at the gate and with her fist in front of her, punching a massive hole in it's center. After the path was formed she looked back at Jagren and said "~The fun way~!"

Jagren was amazed at his queen's strength. Even now, he felt his heart melt combining brawn and beauty together was an amazing feat. This is when he realized that even without nen abilities, Neferpitou can always rely on her physical strength.

The two of them advanced inside to a large storage area filled with model houses and other strange things. Jagren recognized this area based on what he was told about.

"Houses? OH! This is it after all!" Jagren exclaimed

"This is what?" Pitou asked

"Your majesty, this place is where the soldier ants found the remains of the king and his mistress. Don't you remember your majesty?" Jagren attempted to remind his queen.

"...all too well. Hippotsu told me exactly how they found them." Neferpitou recalled. "But Jagren, how did you know that?" She questioned.

"Well, occasionally when I did patrols I would often lose control of my speed and injure myself. Hippotsu always patched me up though, and every time he helped me out he would let me in on what everyone was doing. I never actually been here but I can tell that it' may be an unsettling area to die i-" he cut himself off before he could finish his sentence.

Pitou noticed this but decided to ignore it for now.

The two searched for Hippotsu for a few minutes. Calling out his name and hoping he'd respond was met with failure. However Jagren spotted a figure in one of the houses. Hippotsu was sitting there tied to a chair. He alerted Pitou causing the two of them to rush into the model house. Reuniting them with Hippotsu.

"Hey Hippotsu. What have you gotten yourself into nyow?" She said teasingly but before he could respond- an invisible figure tried to stab Pitou from behind. Pitou's hearing allowed her to react in time and grab the invisible adversary by the neck, slamming them against a wall. This resulting in a few cracks in the foundation of the model home.

"Damn it! How the hell?! Did you sense me? They told me you couldn't sense nen anymore!" The invisible figure said that while still in their invisible state.

"'They who?" Pitou asked

End of chapter


	22. Chapter 22

I'm taking another break. I apologize for leaving you all in the dark, but I have a severe case of writer's block at the moment and it's due to me being over ambitious with what was supposed to be a simple redemption arc for Neferpitou.

Once again, I do apologize to anyone who was looking forward to it. I'll be back in a few weeks to pick up where I left off. Thank for your interest.


End file.
